Ruffles Call from Afar
General Info
Year: 2015
Duration: c. 10:00
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $95.00 | Score Only (print) - $25.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Solo Field Drum
Solo Snare Drum I-II
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I
Oboe II/English Horn
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass 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
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Piano
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:
- Bass Drum
- Chimes
- Crotales
- Glockenspiel
- Hi-Hat
- Marimba
- Slapstick
- Snare Drum, low and high
- Suspended Cymbal
- Vibraphone
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Ruffles Call from Afar is a concerto for drums and wind ensemble, and was commissioned by associate professor John Lane and the Sam Houston State University Wind Ensemble, Matthew McInturf conductor. Lane requested that Goto write for a relatively small setup or something that would be centered on the snare drum. For the solo percussion, Goto chose a field drum, which moves around with the soloist on the stage, and a two-snare drumset.
This one-movement concerto was musically inspired by the field music of the U.S. armed forces, and the composer points out that the nature of the snare drum suggests military music using material derived from the melodies of Yankee Doodle and the Funeral March of the U.S. Army. Additionally, the drumming techniques used in this concerto are based on the rudiments of the National Association of Rudimental Drummers, and the composer notes that this piece is a tribute to the tradition of American drumming.
On the other hand, traditional elements interact with conflicting dissonances and jazz idioms, while, as the composer notes, “the drum is sometimes heard from a distance as if “The Spirit of ‘76” had been an old idea until today.” [American painter Archibald MacNeal Willard’s most famous painting "The Spirit of '76" (previously known as "Yankee Doodle") was exhibited at the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia, the first official World’s Fair in the United States.] Goto evokes this painting while explaining that the title of his concerto was inspired by the ‘ruffles and flourishes’ fanfares played before pieces of honor for a distinguished person. Ruffles are played on drums, and flourishes are played on bugles, and the number of flourishes one receives reflects the status of the honored person; for instance, the president of the United States receives the highest number of ruffles and flourishes (four) before the band plays Hail to the Chief (the honor music).
- Program Note by Sheryl K. Murphy-Manley
Commercial Discography
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of North Dakota (Grand Forks) Wind Ensemble (James Popejoy, conductor; Brian Pfeifer, percussion) – 3 December 2019
- United States Army Band (Ft. Myer, Va.) (Andrew J. Esch, conductor; Timothy Perry, percussion) - 19 December 2018 (2018 Midwest Clinic)
- United States Military Academy (West Point, N.Y.) Band (David Bergman, percussion) – 30 January 2016
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- Elegy (Flex instrumentation) (2017)
- Fanfare and Celebration March (Flex instrumentation) (2017)
- Foster Songs Fantasy (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2015)
- Hana Processional (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1900/2015)
- A Little Festive Music (Flex instrumentation) (2013)
- Over Great Waves and Far Away (Flex instrumentation) (2012)
- Quadrille (Flex instrumentation) (1982/2019)
- Smiley Rag (Flex instrumentation) (2017)
All Wind Works
- Aggression (2005)
- Clalitas (1989)
- Dancing in Air (2004)
- Dancing in Rain (2009)
- Eine Nachtmusik fur Erlkonig (2014)
- Elegy (Flex instrumentation) (2017)
- Encore! (2013)
- Fanfare and Celebration March (Flex instrumentation) (2017)
- Fantasma Lunare (2008)
- Fantasies on Frère Jacques (2010)
- Fantasy on "Madama Butterfly" (as arranger)(2000)
- A Festival Suite (2003)
- Fêtes Lointains (2009)
- Foster Songs Fantasy (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2015)
- Funiculi Funicula Rhapsody (as arranger) (2000)
- Hana Processional (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1900/2015)
- Howl's Moving Castle (as arranger) (2004/2010)
- Impromptu (1976)
- Journey of Exploration (2008)
- Lachrymae (2005)
- A Little Festive Music (Flex instrumentation) (2013)
- Lux Aeterna (1998/2000)
- Marche Hongroise (as arranger) (1820/1846/1986)
- My Neighbor Totoro (as arranger) (1988/2008)
- The Nutcracker Fantasy (as adapter) (1891/2004)
- Over Great Waves and Far Away (2012)
- Over Great Waves and Far Away (Flex instrumentation) (2012)
- A Poetry of Breeze (1991)
- Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea (as arranger) (2008)
- A Prelude to the Shining Day (2010)
- Quadrille (Flex instrumentation) (1982/2019)
- Ruffles Call from Afar (2015)
- Shadow Song (2016)
- Smiley Rag (Flex instrumentation) (2017)
- Songs for Wind Ensemble (2010)
- A Srping Breeze Passes Through a Plain (1999)
- Star Fantasy (2014)
- Studio Ghibli's Anime March Medley (as arranger) (2013)
- Toccata and Fugue in D minor (as arranger) (1705/2014)
- Turandot (as arranger) (2007)
- The Vein of Water (2008)
- A Wild Rose Above (2014)
- WINGS (1998)
Resources
- Goto, Y. (2015). Ruffles Call from Afar: A Concerto for Drum and Wind Ensemble [score]. C. Alan Publications: Greensboro, N.C.
- Perusal score