Phantasmagoria

From Wind Repertory Project
Jeremy Bell

Jeremy Bell


General Info

Year: 2019
Duration: c. 5:50
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Alfred Music Publishing
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $85.00; (digital) - $85.00   |   Score Only (print) - $10.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo/Flute I
Flute II
Oboe
Bassoon
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
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Bells
  • Chimes
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Mark Tree
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tam-Tam
  • Vibraphone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Phantasmagoria is defined as "a shifting series of phantasms, illusions, or deceptive appearances, as in a dream or as created by the imagination." In this highly descriptive piece, key centers shift like the shapes and shadows created by magic lantern projections. Creating a sense of wonder with concealed, dark undertones, musical lines quietly appear and then vanish like wisps of mist that appear out of nowhere, swirling about before fading away.

- Program Note from publisher


One definition from Dictionary.com describes phantasmagoria as "a shifting series of phantasms, illusions, or deceptive appearances, as in a dream or as created by the imagination." Throughout history this definition of phantasmagoria developed as a form of horror theater produced by a magic lantern to project frightening images onto walls, smoke, or screens that increase or diminish in size, pass into each other, or dissolve. Many of the shows began as séances in Germany in the late 18th century, and as they gained in popularity, became a form of entertainment. As the concept grew, the proprietors of these shows developed new techniques and evolved into trick films that used transformations, superimpositions, disappearances, and rear projections. Many modern-day horror films use elements from these shows.

Wikipedia tells a fascinating history of people's interest in the gods, spirits, and particularly the dark arts and conjuring of things from beyond. It calls to our inner curiosity and our attraction to the unknown and the macabre. This piece makes heavy use of chromatic mediants to give it a constant feeling of ambivalence in tonal center, creating a sense of mystery and fascination in the unknown. The key centers shift several times throughout the piece, just like the phantasms created by the projections, and its chromaticism creates a feeling of awe and wonder but with a concealed, dark undertone, beckoning to this part of our primordial brains. It's that desire to figure out, "What was that noise?" when our more sensible self tells us otherwise.

- Program Note by composer


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Spring Garden Band of York (Penn.) (Jeffrey Shaull, conductor) - 23 October 2022
  • University of North Dakota (Grand Forks) Wind Ensemble (James Popejoy, conductor) – 3 December 2019


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources