|
Please DONATE to help with maintenance and upkeep of the Wind Repertory Project!
|
New Birth of Freedom, A
Subtitle: A Narrative Setting of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
General Info
Year: 2010
Duration: c. 4:20
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Alfred Music Publishing
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $72.00; (digital) - $72.00 | Score Only (print) - $9.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo/Flute III
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Harp
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bells
- Chimes
- China Cymbals
- Crash Cymbals
- Field Drum
- Marimba
- Sizzle Cymbal
- Snare Drum, piccolo
- Suspended Cymbal, large and medium
- Triangle, small and large
- Vibraphone
- Xylophone
Narrator
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
On November 19th, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln attended an event held to dedicate a new Soldier Cemetery in Pennsylvania. The “Oration” was to center not around the President, but on a speech given by Edward Everett. A prominent politician of the time, he obliged with a 13,000-word, two-hour affair. The President’s role was to follow with, as the organizer of the event put it, “a few appropriate remarks”. Those 271 words, now known as the Gettysburg Address, have become one of the most revered speeches in our nation’s history. The simplicity and power of the words at a time of greatest peril for the nation are unmatched and the speech became a defining moment in Lincoln’s presidency.
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, the “President’s Own” United States Marine Band held a special concert and commissioned Randol Bass to compose a work honoring the 16th president. Bass has written a number of works commissioned by top-tier ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony, National Symphony, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He chose to put Lincoln’s words front and center with a work that centers on the text of the address. Much like Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, the music shifts to mirror the sentiment of the text, sometimes proud and forceful, sometimes introspective. The overall impression, though, is one of resolute hope, and as the final words “…of the people, by the people, and for the people…” ring out, the band rises up to meet them in a dazzling finale.
- Program Note by Kevin Simpson for the United States Army Band concert program, 23 February 2019
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of Findlay (Ohio) Symphonic Band (Wes King, conductor; Richard Hopkins, narrator) - 20 April 2023
- The Cobb Wind Symphony (Atlanta, Ga.) (Alfred Watkins, conductor) – 23 February 2018 (CBDNA 2018 Southern Conference, Tampa, Fla.)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- An American Celebration (2005)
- Casey at the Bat (2008)
- Champagne and Roses (2002)
- Fanfare pour un Événement Spécial
- Gloria (1990/2011)
- Grand Canyon Suite (as transcriber)
- High Adventure
- Hill Country Fanfare (1975)
- L'Esprit du Tour (2006)
- A New Birth of Freedom (2010)
- The Night Before Christmas (2007)
- Shenandoah (as arranger) (2009)
- Silverado (as arranger) (1985/2008)
- Southwestern Wildflowers (2011)
Resources
- Bass, R. (2010). A New Birth of Freedom : A Narrative Setting of Lincoln's "Gettysburg" Address [score]. Alfred Publishing: [Van Nuys, Calif.].
- Perusal score