McBeth

From Wind Repertory Project
Stephen Hill

Stephen Hill


Subtitle: Fanfare and Hymn


General Info

Year: 2014
Duration: c. 4:45
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: SARAHTIM Music Publishing
Cost: Score and Parts - Contact Publisher

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
Piccolo Trumpet (optional)
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Piano
Harp
Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Bells
  • Chimes
  • Cymbals
  • Glockenspiel
  • Gong
  • Snare Drum
  • Tenor Drum
  • Toms
  • Vibraphone
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

McBeth - A Celebratory Fanfare and Hymn was originally written for the California High School (Whittier) combined band and orchestra to perform as the 2014 graduation recessional. My colleague, Doug Nordquist, director of bands at California High School, was informed that the administration wanted to have a formal Recessional for the end of the graduation. Doug and I discussed several possible pieces in the established band repertoire. With three weeks to go before graduation, one Friday night I got out my sketch book where I jot down musical themes and ideas and took out a tune I had written months earlier and started to compose a recessional sketch. I sent the short sketch to Doug, and he immediately responded with his approval and asked if I could finish it in time. I completed the piece in two weekends, which then left one week for the band and orchestra to rehearse it and have it ready for graduation. The piece was immediately accepted by the students. My cherished memory of the graduation performance took place on the way back to the band room. As I was walking near the drummers, I could overhear a few of them humming the “hymn tune”. I consider having drummers hum a tune that I had written a very, very, cool honor indeed.

The piece begins with a short fanfare that moves into a lyrical hymn tune. As the piece progresses, there is a slight increase in tempo to the second tune. This second tune is then followed by a brief percussion break. The percussion break was specifically written to give the drummers, who usually end up standing around during Pomp and Circumstance, a chance to play something like they might find in a “drum-line”. The piece returns to the beginning fanfare with a restatement of both tunes, eventually ending with a massive chordal statement that builds from the lower to upper instruments in a timbre pyramid.

The title, McBeth, is a tribute to my composition teacher, Dr. W. Francis McBeth. After attending Cerritos College, where I was a student of Phillip Westin, I was afforded the wonderful opportunity to transfer to Ouachita Baptist University to specifically study with Dr. McBeth. Ouachita is a very small university. It was there at OBU that I received the most personal attention a student could only dream of. Dr. McBeth showed genuine interest in both my compositions for his class and in me personally. One special memory took place in the hallway when one day Dr. McBeth came up to me and said, “Stephen, I was thinking about your piece last night, and I have an idea for it.” Wow, what a cool thing to say, that he was thinking about my piece outside of class. That’s the kind of teacher and friend he was to me. Being from California and going to school in Arkansas did not allow for trips home on weekends, so Dr. McBeth would often invite me to his house to sit and visit with him where we would talk, not only about music, but faith in God, purpose in life, and also about a love for fishing. We stayed in touch for over thirty years until his passing in 2012.

- Program Note by composer


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

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Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

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