Solemn Music, A

From Wind Repertory Project
Virgil Thomson

Virgil Thomson


General Info

Year: 1949
Duration: c. 6:15
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: G. Schirmer Inc.
Cost: Score and Parts - Rental


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo I-II
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat 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
Cornet I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Baritone I-II
Tuba I-II
String Bass
Timpani I-II
Percussion (4 players), including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Field Drum
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tam-Tam


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

A Solemn Music (1949), written for band and later orchestrated, was composed in a rather conservative atonal idiom. Written in memory of [Gertrude] Stein and the painter Christian Bérard, it is one of Thomson's most powerful works.

- Gale Encyclopedia of Biography


This work was commissioned by the League of Composers for the Goldman Band and first performed at the season's opening concert of this organization on June 17, 1949, in Central Park, New York City, the composer conducting.

- Program Note from score


Media


State Ratings

  • Alabama: Class A
  • California: VI Class AA
  • Louisiana: IV
  • Massachusetts: V


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Conservatorio Superior de Música "Manuel Castillo" - OSC (Sevilla, Spain) (Camilo Irizo, conductor; Diego Lagares Lepe, euphonium) - 20 December 2023
  • University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Symphony (Kevin Michael Holzman, conductor) – 31 October 2018
  • Eastman Wind Orchestra (Mark Davis Scatterday, conductor) - 15 April 2015
  • Keystone Wind Ensemble (Indiana, Penn.) (H. Robert Reynolds, conductor) – 22 February 2001 (CBDNA 2001 National Conference, Denton, Tx.)


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • Girsberger, Russ. Percussion Assignments for Band & Wind Ensemble: Volume 2 L-Z. Galesville, MD: Meredith Music Publications, 2004, 308. Print.
  • Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Virgil Thomson." Accessed 24 October 2018
  • Nichols, Todd, and William Berz. "Virgil Thomson's A Solemn Music and A Joyful Fugue: An Overview and Analysis." WASBE Journal, Vol. 26/2020, pp. 40-51. Print.