Solemn Place, A
General Info
Year: 2013
Duration: c. 4:10
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Wayne Oquin
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $300.00 | Score Only (print) - $20.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone
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 I-II
Tuba I-II
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II, including:
- Bass Drum
- Chimes
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
For as long as I can remember I've been involved in choral music. As a young student, I spent countless hours singing, rehearsing, accompanying, and conducting choirs. The lasting impact this had on my music cannot be overstated; so much of the way I compose is from the vantage point of the singer. Equally important to my musical upbringing, particularly in high school and in my early college years, is the time I spent immersed with wind ensembles. Some of my earliest compositions were written for my high school band.
The result is that I internalized a significant portion of the choral and band literature from a young age. In many ways, A Solemn Place is the converging of these two worlds at their greatest common denominator: breath.
In January 2013, I completed O Magnum Mysterium, an unaccompanied choral work, commissioned by my friend and long-time supporter Robert Gehrenbeck for his Whitewater Chamber Singers at the University of Wisconsin. At the suggestion of John Lynch, to whom I owe much, I transcribed this choral piece for wind ensemble. A Solemn Place received its world premiere on October 31, 2013, by the Sydney Conservatorium Wind Symphony under John’s direction.
As with much of my music, a seamless quality permeates the work. Though the harmony alternates between passages of tonal stability and those of transition, there is no pause, no complete cadence, for the four minutes of the piece. While the music begins mysteriously and ends triumphant, it is the exploration between these two destinations that I find compelling. To experience this piece is to be continuously in the moment, not completely aware of what lies ahead or where the piece may lead, until the final chord.
Though A Solemn Place and the initial choral work on which it is based do not share the same title, the contemplative, spiritual nature is preserved in the wind band adaptation. Both versions are dedicated to a great teacher and friend, Mary Anthony Cox.
- Program Note by composer
Media
- Audio: Reference recording. University of Georgia Wind Ensemble
- Audio CD: Messiah College Wind Ensemble (Bradley Genevro, conductor) - 2016
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Kansas State University Wind Ensemble (Frank Tracz, conductor) - 29 November 2023
- New Jersey (Ridgewood) Wind Symphony (Patrick Burns, conductor) - 3 November 2023
- West Virginia University (Morgantown) Symphonic Band (Cheldon R. Williams, conductor) - 25 April 2023
- University of Illinois (Champaign/Urbana) Wind Orchestra (Elizabeth Peterson, conductor) — 1 May 2022
- Michigan State University (East Lansing) Symphony Band (David Thornton, conductor) - 21 October 2021
- Temple University (Philadelphia, Penn.) Wind Symphony (Matthew Brunner, conductor) – 21 February 2020 (CBDNA 2020 Eastern Division Conference, Philadelphia, Penn.)
- University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Wind Ensemble (Kevin M. Geraldi, conductor) – 21 February 2020
- Westchester Symphonic Winds (Tarrytown, N.Y.) (Curt Ebersole, conductor) – 9 February 2020
- Concordia University (River Forest, Ill.) University Band (Richard R. Fischer, conductor) – 8 November 2019
- Sinfonisches Verbandsjugendorchester Ortenau (Germany) (Rüdiger Müller, conductor) – 29 October 2019 (Fredonia, N.Y.)
- University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa) Symphonic Band (Randall O. Coleman, conductor) – 10 October 2019
- Northern Illinois University (DeKalb) Wind Symphony (Thomas Bough, conductor) – 22 April 2019
- University of Southern Mississippi (Hattisburg) Wind Ensemble (Catherine Rand, conductor) – 20 February 2019 (CBDNA 2019 National Conference, Tempe, Ariz.)
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Wind Ensemble (Ross Wolf, conductor) – 17 February 2019
- University of Southern Mississippi (Hattisburg) Wind Ensemble (Catherine Rand, conductor) – 16 November 2018
- West Virginia University (Morgantown) Wind Symphony (Scott C. Tobias, conductor) – 24 September 2018
- Colorado Wind Ensemble (Denver) (David Kish, conductor) - 22 September 2018
- Virginia Tech (Blacksburg) Wind Ensemble (Jonathan Caldwell, conductor) – 23 February 2018 (CBDNA 2018 Southern Conference, Tampa, Fla.)
- Indiana University (Bloomington) Concert Band (Jason H. Nam, conductor) – 6 February 2018
- Illinois State University (Normal) Symphonic Winds (Gavin Smith, conductor) – 16 November 2016
- University of North Texas (Denton) Concert Band (Jacqueline Townsend, conductor) – 17 February 2016
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Affirmation (2014)
- Flashback (1996/2016)
- Horizon (2021)
- Momentum (1997)
- River Sanctuary (1998)
- A Solemn Place (2013)
- Song for Silent Voices (2018)
- Tower Ascending (2009)
Resources
- Caldwell, Jonathan. "A Solemn Place." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 11, Compiled and edited by Richard Miles, 303-314. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2018.
- Michael Scott Taylor, personal correspondence, December 2018
- Wayne Oquin website Accessed 5 March 2016