Through Countless Halls of Air

W. Francis McBeth

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General Info

Year: 1995
Duration: c. 13:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Southern Music Co.
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $250.00 | Score Only (print) - $20.00

Movements

1. First flight: Daedalus and Icarus – 2:37
2. Kitty Hawk: Orville and Wilbur – 5:50
3. High flight: The BeeGee and the Blackbird – 4:50

Instrumentation

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

This is an expansive, bravura showcase written for the U.S. Air Force Band. Composed in three movements, each evokes an aspect of flight. First Flight is a brilliant, fanfare-like opening; Kitty Hawk explores the anticipation of discovery and its triumph; High Flight concludes the work with virtuosic displays worthy of the modern Air Force.

- Program Note from publisher

Through Countless Halls of Air was commissioned by and is dedicated to L. Col. Alan L. Bonner and the United States Air Force Band, Washington, DC. The title is taken from the poem High Flight, and specifically from the line “I fling my eager craft through footless halls of air and touch the face of God.” The work was written in the summer of 1993 and premiered on March 27, 1994 at the American Bandmasters Association convention in Honolulu, Hawaii, by the Air Force Band with the composer conducting.

Each movement conveys a specific moment in the history of flight. The opening tense fanfare celebrates the courage and fear of first light as seen in the mythical flight of Daedalus and Icarus. The second movement expresses the grand serenity of soaring over the dunes of Kitty Hawk. The last movement, named after two of the most famous and fastest planes ever to fly, the BeeGee and the Blackbird, expresses the combination of flight and speed. The movement uses two themes, one denoting tension and the other exhilaration.

- Program Note from Brigham Young University Symphonic Band concert program, 28 February 2017

Commercial Discography

Audio CD: U.S. Air Force Band (Dennis W. Layendecker, conductor) - 2008

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

Alabama: Class AA
Indiana: ISSMA SENIOR BAND GROUP I
Louisiana: III
North Carolina: VI
Virginia: VI

Performances

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Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah) Symphonic Band (Kirk Saville, conductor) – 28 February 2017
Cypress Symphonic Band (Houston, Texas) (Clancy Weeks, conductor) – 25 June 2016
McGill Wind Symphony (Montreal, Que.) (Vicky Shin, conductor) - 2009
University of Nevada Reno Wind Ensemble (A. G. McGrannahan III, conductor) – 12 March 1998 (1998 Western/Northwestern Division Conference, Reno, Nev.)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Battaglia (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Barber) (1967/2021)

All Wind Works

Air and Dance (2005)
Annabel Lee (2004)
Battaglia (1967)
Battaglia (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Barber) (1967/2021)
Beowulf (1966)
Caccia (1980)
Canticle (1969)
Cantique and Faranade (1967)
Canto (1977)
Capriccio Concertant (1976)
Cavata (1959/1981)
Chant and Jubilo (1963)
Chase (2006)
The Coventry (2003)
Daniel in the Lion's Den (1991/1994)
Divergents
Drammatico (1970)
Drayton Hall Esprit (1992)
The Dream Catcher (1997)
Estampie (2000)
The Feast of Trumpets (!982)
Festive Centennial (1974)
The Fifth Trumpeter (1989)
Flourishes (1982)
Grace Praeludium (1982)
Intermezzo from "Manon Lescaut" (as arranger) (1893/1984)
It is Well
Joyant Narrative (1966)
Kaddish (1976)
Keltic Dances (2004)
Lauds and Tropes (1997)
The Lions of North Bridge (2000)
Masque (1968)
Mosaic (!964)
Of Sailors and Whales (1989)
Praises (1984)
Reflections Past (1965)
The Sacred Flame
Scaramouche (2002)
The Sea Treaders (1996)
Second Suite for Band (1961)
The Seventh Seal (1972)
Third Movement from "Symphony No. 2" (Hanson) (as arranger) (1930/1983)
Symphonic Dance No. 1, "Comanche Ritual" (as transcriber) (1965/2013)
They Hung Their Harps in the Willows (1988)
This Land of El Dorado (1993)
Through Countless Halls of Air (1995)
To Be Fed By Ravens (1975)
To the Unknowns (1987)
When Honor Whispers and Shouts (1998)
When Rossi Strikes
Wine From These Grapes (1992)
With Sounding Trumpets (1987)

Resources

McBeth, W. (1995). Through Countless Halls of Air: For Symphonic Band [score]. Southern Music Co.: San Antonio, Texas.