Songs from the Catskills

Johan de Meij

Johan de Meij

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General Info

Year: 2012
Duration: c. 8:30
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Amstel Music, through Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts - $99.00   |   Score Only - $25.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II-III
Oboe I-II-III
English Horn
Bassoon I-II-III
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
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-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Harp/Piano
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III

(Percussion detail desired)

Banjo

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

The Catskill Mountains is a beautifully preserved region in Upstate New York, flanked to the east by the Hudson River. From the moment my wife and I settled in 2008 in Saugerties, a quaint Hudson Valley town 100 miles north of Manhattan, I started immersing myself into the area's rich musical history. Discovering a fascinating mix of American, Irish and Scottish folk music, ultimately, it was not easy to choose from such abundance. I ended up using the following six songs:

• The Foggy Dew - is of Irish origin, but was adopted with another text into the local folk song repertoire;
• Last Winter was a Hard One - tells the story of two Irish immigrant women who complain that their husbands can not find work, and that ‘Those Italians’ steal their jobs;
• A Poor and Foreign Stranger - a gorgeous, heart-breaking ballad;
• The Bluestone Quarries - describes the hard work in the nineteenth-century stone quarries. This song is very similar to When Johnny Comes Marching Home;
• The Arkansas Traveler - made famous by folk singer Pete Seeger (If I Had a Hammer) The music makes a side trip to The Old Tobacco Box before coming to a festive conclusion.

Songs from the Catskills was commissioned by Concordia College (Moorhead, MN) and Scott A. Jones, Director of Bands, for its 2011 Honor Band Weekend. In April 2011, the work was premiered during this event, conducted by the composer.

The work is dedicated to Marilyn and Travis Rothlein, our dear friends and neighbors in the Catskills.

- Program note by composer

This is a delightful collection of six contrasting folksongs associated with the region. It is written in one continuous movement connected by short transitions. The colorful assortment includes The Foggy Dew, The Winter Was a Hard One, A Poor and Foreign Stranger, The Bluestone Quarries, The Arkansas Traveler, and The Old Tobacco Box. The otherwise standard instrumentation includes English horn, E clarinet, string bass, banjo, harp and piano. This is a significant new work by the well-known composer of Symphony No. 1, “The Lord of the Rings".

- Program note from The Instrumentalist (J.T.) - February 2013

Media

• Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

• Oneonta (N.Y.) Community Concert Band (Andy Pease, conductor) - 5 September 2021
• Allegheny College (Pa.) Band Camp for Adult Musicians (Timothy Foley, conductor) - 13 June 2014
• Rio Bravo Wind Ensemble (Allen Clark, conductor) - 7 November 2012

Works for Winds by This Composer

• African Harmony (2017)
• Aladdin Suite (as arranger)
• Aquarium (1991)
• At Kitty O'Shea's (2011)
• Beatles Collection (as arranger) (1982)
• Canticles (2007)
• Casanova (2000)
• Celtic Classics (2016)
• Ceremonial Fanfare (2005)
• Chanson de Matin (as arranger) (c. 1890/1988)
• Clair de lune (as arranger) (1890/1905/2017)
• Cloud Factory (2011)
• Continental Overture (1997)
• Copacabana (as arranger)
• Downtown Divertimento (2014)
• Dutch Masters Suite (2008)
• Echoes of San Marco (2016)
• Edgar (as arranger) (1889/2008)
• Extreme Make-over (2004)
• Extreme Beethoven (2012)
• Fellini (2015)
• Festive Hymn (2007)
• Fifty Shades of E (2016)
• Highlights from "Riverdance" (as arranger) (1994/2014)
• Highlights from the Seville Suite (as arranger) (1992/2011)
• Honky Tonk Ragtime (as arranger) (1985)
• Jazz Suite No. 2 (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
  • March (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
  • Lyric Waltz (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
  • Dance I (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
  • Dance II (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
  • Waltz No. 2 (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
  • Finale (as arranger) (post-1956/1994)
• Joropo (as arranger)
• Jupiter Hymn (as arranger)
• Klezmer Classics (2004)
• La Fanciulla del West (as arranger) (1910/2008)
• La Quintessenza (1990/1998)
• Les Papillons (as editor)
• Loch Ness (1988)
• Lord of the Rings. See: Symphony No. 1
• Lord of the Rings (arr. Lavender) (1987/2001)
• Los Cuatro Vientos (2021)
• Madurodam (1997)
• March to Mars (as arranger) (1987)
• Marche Americana (as editor) (1997)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (as arranger) (1826/2022)
• Moment for Morricone (as arranger) (1966/1996)
• Musical Highlights from "Chess" (as arranger) (1993)
• The Painted Bird (2021)
• Pavane (as arranger) (1899/1991)
• Pennsylvania Faux Songs (2018)
• Phantom of the Opera (as arranger)
• Polish Christmas Music, Part I (1995)
• Ratatouille Satirique (as arranger) (/1994)
• Romeo and Juliet (as arranger). See: Suite from the Ballet "Romeo & Juliet"
• Rotterdam 1945 (2019)
• Sinfonietta No. 1 (2011/2012)
• Songs from the Catskills (2012)
• Spring (2010)
• Star Wars Saga (as arranger) (1987)
• Suite for Variety Orchestra (as arranger) (post 1956/1994)
• Suite from the Ballet "Romeo & Juliet" (as arranger) (1935/1990)
• Summer (2013)
• Symphony No. 1 (1987)
  • Gandalf (The Wizard)
  • Lothlorien (The Elvenwood)
  • Gollum (Smeagol)
  • Journey in the Dark
  • Hobbits
• Symphony No. 2 (1993)
• Symphony No. 3 (2007)
• Symphony No. 4 (2013)
• Symphony No. 5 (2018)
  • Ancalagon, the Black (2018)
• UFO Concerto (2012)
• T-Bone Concerto (1996)
• Te Deum (as transcriber) (1900/2010)
• Two-Bone Concerto (2016)
• Teddy Trombone (as arranger)
• Un Momento Dado (2021)
• The Venetian Collection
  • Empire of Light
  • Magic Garden
  • The Red Tower
  • Voice of Space
• Via Claudia (2012)
• Wind in the Willows (2002)
• Windy City Overture (2006)
• The Witches' Sabbath (as arranger)
• The Woman in White (as arranger) (2006)
• The Year 2020 (2022)

Resources

• De Meij, J. (2012). Song from the Catskills: For Wind Orchestra [score]. Amstel Music: Amsterdam, Neth.