Prelude and Dance (Creston)
The work bears the designation Opus 76.
General Info
Year: 1941 / 1960
Duration: c. 7:20
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Piano
Publisher: Recordi
Cost: Score and Parts - Out of print.
For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.
Instrumentation
Full Score
Condensed Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
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 Cornet I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion (4 players), including:
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Gong
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tambourine
- Tom-tom
- Triangle
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Paul Creston wrote Prelude and Dance in 1960, and offers this note about the work:
I look upon music, and more specifically the writing of it, as a spiritual practice. To me, musical composition is as vital to my spiritual welfare as prayer and good deeds; just as food and exercise are necessities of physical health, and thought and study are requisites of mental well being.
The compelling accents and pulsation of the prelude lead to a lively dance, where a long legato melody is urged forward by short percussive bursts.
- Program Note from Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music
Creston was one of the most performed American composers of the 1940s and 1950s, and several of his works have become staples of the wind band repertoire. One of his best pieces for band is the Prelude and Dance (a title he used for several pieces in different media), Op. 76, written in 1959. The compelling accents and pulsation of the prelude lead to a lively dance, where a long, legato melody is propelled by short percussive bursts.
- Program Note from liner notes for Klavier CD Emblems
Prelude and Dance was commissioned by Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma and was premiered by the National Intercollegiate Band in 1959 with the composer conducting.
Always interested in rhythms, Creston's rhapsodic Prelude is laced wth completing accents and pulsations as it projects a long legato line above the shorter, percussive bursts of the accompaniment. The Dance is breathtaking throughout with polymeters, polyrhythms, and even a touch of tarantella.
- Program Note from Program Notes for Band
Media
State Ratings
- Alabama: Class AA
- Arkansas: V
- Louisiana: V
- Minnesota: I
- Oklahoma: V-A
- Tennessee: VI
- Texas: V. Complete
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Central Washington University (Ellensburg) Wind Ensemble (T. André Feagin, conductor) – 17 March 2022 (CBDNA 2022 Western/Northwestern Conference, Tacoma, Wash.)
- United States Air Force Band (Washington, D.C.) (Lowell Graham, conductor) – 21 February 2001 (CBDNA 2001 National Conference, Denton, Tx.)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Anatolia (1968)
- Celebration Overture (1955)
- Celebration Overture (ed. Madden) (1955/2016)
- Concertino for Marimba and Band (1940/1975)
- Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra (or Band) (1941/1963/1966)
- Fantasy for Trombone and Orchestra (or Band)
- Five Little Dances (trans. Longfield) (1946/2013)
- Kalevala (1971)
- Legend (1942/1945)
- Night in Mexico (tr. Yates) (1966/1997)
- Prelude and Dance (1959)
- Square Dance '76 (1977)
- Suite for Saxophone Quartet
- Zanoni (1949)
- Liberty Song ’76 (1976)
Resources
- Creston, P. (1960). Prelude and Dance for Symphonic Band: op 76 [score]. G. Ricordi: New York.
- Girsberger, Russ. Percussion Assignments for Band & Wind Ensemble. Volume I: A-K. Meredith Music Publications, 2004, pp. 72.
- Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Paul Creston." Accessed 21 May 2020
- Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications, pp. 147.