Symphony I (Boysen)
General Info
Year: 1997
Duration: c. 17:00
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Andrew Boysen, Jr.
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $200.00 | Score Only (print) - $60.00
Movements
1. Fast and Brilliant – 7:40
2. Slow and Plaintive – 3:55
3. Fast and Aggressive – 5:15
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III-IV
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Piano
Timpani
Percussion I-VI, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bells
- Bongos
- Brake Drum
- Castanets
- Chimes
- Crotales
- Finger Cymbals
- Hi-Hat
- Marimbas (2)
- Ratchet
- Slapstick
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbals (5; 3 medium, 2 small)
- Tambourine
- Tam-Tam
- Temple Blocks
- Tom-Toms (4)
- Triangles (2)
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
My Symphony No. 1 is set in three movements, fast-slow-fast, with each movement using traditional formal structures. The first movement is in sonata allegro form. The pitch material for each theme is comprised of a hexachord, and the two hexachords taken together present all twelve pitches of the chromatic scale. These two sets of pitches form the basis for the pitch material throughout the piece.
The second movement is a sort of chaconne, with a long, plaintive melodic line that is repeated six times over an increasingly complex accompaniment. The third movement is a rondo that includes two main ideas. These two ideas are contrasted by a section in which the bass line creates a repeating pattern using the same pitch material and a section featuring imitative development of the oboe melody. The work climaxes and concludes with a return to some of the first movement material.
The piece was commissioned by Marietta Paynter in memory of her husband (and my teacher), John P. Paynter, and it received its premiere on May 8, l998, at Northwestern University with Stephen Peterson conducting.
- Program Note by composer
Media
- Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
- Audio CD: Indiana State University Wind Orchestra (John Boyd, conductor) - 1999
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.) Symphonic Band (Stephen Peterson, conductor) – 8 May 1998 *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Alchemy (2008/2013)
- All the Pretty Little Horses. See: Three Folk Song Settings for Band
- Ancient Runes (2017)
- Apples (2018)
- Branden's Rainbow (1997/2002)
- Bright Sunny Days (2013)
- By My Side (2018)
- Casus Belli (2018)
- Celebration In Brass (1995)
- Concerto for Percussion (as transcriber) (1994/1997)
- Conversations with the Night (1994)
- Dance, from All Hail the Power
- December Dance (2005)
- Diamond Jubilee Suite (2018)
- Distorted Images: A Jazzman's Nightmare (1989)
- A Fallen Leaf (2004)
- Fanfare: In Memoriam (2015)
- Fantasy on a Theme by Sousa (2003)
- Frenzy (2010)
- The Four Horsemen (1989)
- A Glimpse through the Trees (2014)
- Grant Them Eternal Rest (2003)
- Havener Fanfare (2012)
- Heirloom (2009)
- I Am (1990)
- John Henry (1990)
- Joyride (2003/2008)
- Kinetic Energy (1994)
- Kirkpatrick Fanfare (1999)
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (2006)
- Metamorphosis (2013)
- Old Ben's Farm (2016/2019)
- On the Merrimack (2010)
- Ovations (1995)
- Phoenix (2020)
- Poor Wayfaring Stranger. See: Three Folk Song Settings for Band
- Relentless (2000)
- Scarborough Fair. See: Three Folk Song Settings for Band
- Scherzo (1995)
- Scherzo No 2 (2013)
- Shades of Ivory (1996)
- Simple Song (1995)
- Snowflakes Dancing (2012/2016)
- Song for Lyndsay (2005)
- Song for My Children (2013)
- Song for My Parents (2020)
- Song of Loudest Praise, A (2010)
- Song of the Sea Maidens (1994)
- Stamp, from A Jack Stamp Suite (2017)
- Star-Crossed (2013)
- Symphony No. 1 for Winds and Percussion (1997)
- Symphony No. 3 (1999)
- Symphony No. 4 (2006)
- Symphony No. 6 (2012)
- Symphony No. 8 (2015-2016)
- Symphony No. 10 (2019)
- This Is the Drum (2013)
- Thoughts of You (1998)
- Three Folk Song Settings for Band
- Poor Wayfaring Stranger (2007/2012)
- All the Pretty Little Horses (as arranger) (2014)
- Scarborough Fair (as arranger) (2013)
- Time Streams (After Tricycle) (2011)
- To Break Earth's Sleep (2015)
- Tricycle (1997)
- Twilight of the Gods (2010)
- An Uncommon Man (1993)
- Unraveling (2006)
- Urban Scenes (1993)
- The Vikings (2015)
Resources
- Andrew Boysen Jr. website Accessed 16 November 2020
- "Symphony No. 1 for Winds and Percussion." The Wind Band Symphony Archive. Web. Accessed 16 November 2020