Three Sketches for Wind Ensemble

From Wind Repertory Project
Luis Serrano Alarcón

Luis Serrano Alarcón


General Info

Year: 2014
Duration: c. 8:00
Difficulty: IV+ (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Murphy Music Press
Cost: Score and Parts (print) – $93.00 | Score Only (print) – $40.00


Movements

1. Spiritoso
2. Lento e rubato
3. Con fuoco


Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I
Flute II / C Piccolo
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I / B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:

  • Bar Chimes
  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Glockenspiel
  • Marimba
  • Snare Drum (2; one offstage)
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tam-tam
  • Tambourine
  • Triangle
  • Vibraphone
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Commissioned by the Hong Kong Band Directors Association, Three Sketches for Wind Ensemble is a piece in which the composer, through modal strokes and a concise but meticulously combined timbre palette, has attempted to construct a musical discourse of expository conciseness and formal simplicity.

The first movement, Spiritoso, begins with a game of echoes featuring two snare drums (one of which is offstage), soon joined by the timpani. After this introduction, we find the first thematic section introduced by the brass, and a secondary theme – derived from the first – is presented by the tenor sax and then imitated by the alto sax. A new appearance of the first theme leads to a brilliant tutti, and finally, a brief coda in which, subtly, the movement is concluded with the rhythm that the snare drums initially presented.

The Lento e rubato is a movement of expressive character and ternary form. In it, the importance of the soloists is especially relevant, especially the bassoon that presents the continuum on which the oboe builds the initial theme, and the soprano sax, protagonist of the central section. After a restatement of the first theme, the movement ends with a coda in which the oboe and bassoon lead a Dorian melody to an A major perfect chord in the saxophones, closing the movement.

The third movement, Con fuoco, is a dance written also in ternary form. After a forceful introduction, characterized by the dissonant energy induced by semitone intervals, a first theme appears in the piccolo with only the accompaniment of percussion. The modal treatment of the theme, with the usual presence of augmented seconds, as well as the texture used, give the section an unmistakable Arab flavor. The middle section is in stark contrast to the previous one: in a slightly slower tempo, the music establishes an ethereal ostinato on which a new theme appears, first by the bassoon and then imitated by the oboe and, later, played by the trombone and imitated by the piccolo. This theme is characterized by small increases and decreases of the tempo, which enhance its humorous character. After an accelerating we find the restatement of the first section and a brilliant coda with which, definitively, the work concludes.

- Program Note by composer


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

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Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

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