Spires
General Info
Year: 2021
Duration: c. 5:45
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Frederick Speck
Cost: Score and Parts - contact Frederick Speck
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon (desirable, but optional)
B-flat Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
B-flat Trumpet I-III-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba (2 players)
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:
- Bar Chimes
- Chimes
- Glockenspiel
- Low Tom
- Marimba
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbals (3; high, medium and low)
- Tam-tam (large)
- Temple Blocks
- Temple Blocks (5)
- Tenor Drum
- Vibraphone
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
The magnitude of a spire can be compelling, easily capturing one's attention and imagination. Spires seem to possess a presence and energy that surpass the architecture itself. Spires such as those of the Cologne Cathedral ascending high above the Rhine, St. Patrick's in New York, standing lower but appearing to stretch beyond the skyscrapers surrounding them, or in one's memory, the ghost of the spirit of Notre Dame in Paris, all evoke a certain dynamic intensity. Some seem to strain with energy, launching upward, others seem to float in near weightlessness, extending into the space beyond. These are a few of the metaphors that triggered the moods and motion in this music.
- Program Note by composer
Media
State Ratings
- Kentucky: VI
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of Louisville (Ky.) Wind Ensemble (Amy Acklin, conductor) – 23 July 2022 (WASBE Conference, Prague, Czech Republic)
- University of Louisville (Ky.) Wind Ensemble (Amy Acklin, conductor) - 18 July 2022 *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Childgrove (2005)
- Fantasia on a Southern Hymn Tune (2002)
- Fantasia on Bogoroditse Devo (2015)
- More Thunder, More Blazes (2023)
- Polaris (2018)
- Spires
- Zenyatta (2011)
Resources
- "SPIRES for Wind Ensemble by Frederick Speck (USA, 1955)." WASBE. Web. (Featured as WASBE’s Composition of the Week, 12 September 2022). Accessed 4 January 2023