Painted Bird, The

Johan de Meij

Johan de Meij

This article is a stub. If you can help add information to it, please join the WRP and visit the FAQ (left sidebar) for information.

Subtitle: A Cry Against Fascism

General Info

Year: 2020
Duration: c. 11:00
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Amstel Music, through Music Shop Europe and Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - €219.63   |   Score Only (print) - €42.06

Instrumentation

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

(percussion detail desired)

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

The Painted Bird, the controversial novel by Jerzy Kosinski (1933-1991), tells the story of a Jewish boy during World War II. For his safety, the child was sent to the Polish countryside by his parents. The title refers to a barbaric tradition among Polish farmers. The wings of a captured bird were painted in bright colors, after which the animal was released. Almost immediately, the bird was attacked and pecked to death by its peers. The boy underwent the same fate. Wherever he wandered, the local rural people cruelly mistreated him because of his distinctly different appearance. However, he survives the horrors and is reunited with his parents after the war. To escape the yoke of the Soviet occupation in his country, the Polish-Jewish Kosinski emigrated with counterfeit papers to the United States in 1957, where he became an American citizen in 1965. His landmark novel The Painted Bird was translated into thirty languages and sold millions of copies. Plagued by illness and accusations of betraying his country and plagiarism the writer ended his life in 1991.

- Program Note from publisher

Commissioned by the Williamsville Music Boosters, Williamsville, N.Y., -- USA – for Williamsville East, North and South High Schools.

- Program Note from score

Media

• Audio: Reference recording. MIDI realization

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

• Kyusyu (Japan) Wind Orchestra (Johan de Meij, conductor) - 22 September 2022
• Texas Christian University (Fort Worth) Wind Symphony (Bobby R. Francis, conductor) - 5 October 2022
• Williamsville (N.Y.) combined bands (Johan de Meij, conductor) – 30 March 2022 *Premiere Performance*

Works for Winds by this Composer

• African Harmony (2017)
• Aladdin Suite (as arranger)
• Aquarium (1991)
• At Kitty O'Shea's (2011)
• Beatles Collection (as arranger) (1982)
• Canticles (2007)
• Casanova (2000)
• Celtic Classics (2016)
• Ceremonial Fanfare (2005)
• Chanson de Matin (as arranger) (c. 1890/1988)
• Clair de lune (as arranger) (1890/1905/2017)
• Cloud Factory (2011)
• Continental Overture (1997)
• Copacabana (as arranger)
• Downtown Divertimento (2014)
• Dutch Masters Suite (2008)
• Echoes of San Marco (2016)
• Edgar (as arranger) (1889/2008)
• Extreme Make-over (2004)
• Extreme Beethoven (2012)
• Fellini (2015)
• Festive Hymn (2007)
• Fifty Shades of E (2016)
• Highlights from "Riverdance" (as arranger) (1994/2014)
• Highlights from the Seville Suite (as arranger) (1992/2011)
• Honky Tonk Ragtime (as arranger) (1985)
• Jazz Suite No. 2 (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
  • March (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
  • Lyric Waltz (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
  • Dance I (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
  • Dance II (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
  • Waltz No. 2 (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
  • Finale (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
• Joropo (as arranger)
• Jupiter Hymn (as arranger)
• Klezmer Classics (2004)
• La Fanciulla del West (as arranger) (1910/2008)
• La Quintessenza (1990/1998)
• Les Papillons (as editor)
• Loch Ness (1988)
• Lord of the Rings. See: Symphony No. 1
• Lord of the Rings (arr. Lavender) (1987/2001)
• Los Cuatro Vientos (2021)
• Madurodam (1997)
• March to Mars (as arranger) (1987)
• Marche Americana (as editor) (1997)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (as arranger) (1826/2022)
• Moment for Morricone (as arranger) (1966/1996)
• Musical Highlights from "Chess" (as arranger) (1993)
• The Painted Bird (2021)
• Pavane (as arranger) (1899/1991)
• Pennsylvania Faux Songs (2018)
• Phantom of the Opera (as arranger)
• Polish Christmas Music, Part I (1995)
• Ratatouille Satirique (as arranger) (/1994)
• Romeo and Juliet (as arranger). See: Suite from the Ballet "Romeo & Juliet"
• Rotterdam 1945 (2019)
• Sinfonietta No. 1 (2011/2012)
• Songs from the Catskills (2012)
• Spring (2010)
• Star Wars Saga (as arranger) (1987)
• Suite for Variety Orchestra (as arranger) (post 1956/1994)
• Suite from the Ballet "Romeo & Juliet" (as arranger) (1935/1990)
• Summer (2013)
• Symphony No. 1 (1987)
  • Gandalf (The Wizard)
  • Lothlorien (The Elvenwood)
  • Gollum (Smeagol)
  • Journey in the Dark
  • Hobbits
• Symphony No. 2 (1993)
• Symphony No. 3 (2007)
• Symphony No. 4 (2013)
• Symphony No. 5 (2018)
  • Ancalagon, the Black (2018)
• UFO Concerto (2012)
• T-Bone Concerto (1996)
• Te Deum (as transcriber) (1900/2010)
• Two-Bone Concerto (2016)
• Teddy Trombone (as arranger)
• Un Momento Dado (2021)
• The Venetian Collection
  • Empire of Light
  • Magic Garden
  • The Red Tower
  • Voice of Space
• Via Claudia (2012)
• Wind in the Willows (2002)
• Windy City Overture (2006)
• The Witches' Sabbath (as arranger)
• The Woman in White (as arranger) (2006)
• The Year 2020 (2022)

Resources

• Johan de Meij website Accessed 4 October 2022
• Perusal score