Winds of Nagual

From Wind Repertory Project

Michael Colgrass

This work bears the subtitle "A Musical Fable for Wind Ensemble on the Writings of Carlos Castaneda."

1 General Info
2 Instrumentation
3 Errata
4 Program Notes
5 Awards
6 Commercial Discography
7 State Ratings
8 Recent Performances
9 Additional Works for Winds by this Composer
10 Additional Resources

General Info

Year: 1985
Duration: c. 25:00
Difficulty: VII (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Unknown
Cost: Unknown

Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II-III (all double piccolo, two double Alto Flute)
Eb Soprano Clarinet
Bb Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV-V-VI
Bb Bass Clarinet
Eb Contra-Alto Clarinet
Bb Contrabass Clarinet
Contrabassoon
Soprano Saxophone
Alto Saxophone
Trumpet I-II-III-IV-V-VI (Trumpet V-VI double Cornet)
Flugelhorn
Horn in F I-II-III-IV-V-VI
Trombone I-II-III-IV-V-VI (Trombone V-VI should be bass trombones)
Euphonium (two players)
Tuba (2 players)
String Bass (2 players)
Celesta (and piano)
Harp
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:

Bass Drum
Bongos
Cowbell (5)
Crotales
Cymbals (1 pr. 8" crash, 3 large crash, 4 large suspended)
Field Drum
Gongs (3)
Marimba
Parsifal Bells
Snare Drum
Temple Block
Tenor Drum
Timbales
Tubular Bells
Vibraphone
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Winds of Nagual is based on the writings of Carlos Castaneda about his 14-year apprenticeship with don Juan Matis, a Yaqui Indian sorcerer from Northwestern Mexico. Castaneda met don Juan while researching hallucinogenic plants for his master's thesis in Anthropology at UCLA. Juan became Castaneda's mentor and trained him in pre-Colombian techniques of sorcery, the overall purpose of which is to find the creative self - what Juan calls the nagual.

Each of the characters has a musical theme: Juan's is dark and ominous, yet gentle and kind; Carlos' is open, direct, and naive. We hear Carlos' theme throughout the piece from constantly changing perspectives, as Juan submits him to long desert marches, encounters with terrifying powers and altered states of reality. A comic aspect is added to the piece by don Genaro, a sorcerer friend of Juan's, who frightens Carlos with fantastic tricks like disappearing and re-appearing at will.

The score is laced with programmatic indications such as "Juan entrances Carlos with a stare," "a horrible creature leaps at Carlos," "He feels a deep and calm joy," etc. The listener need not have read Castaneda's books to enjoy the work, and I don't expect anyone to follow any exact scenario. My object is to capture the mood and atmosphere created by the book and to convey a feeling of the relationship that develops as a man of ancient wisdom tries to cultivate heart in an analytical young man of the technological age.

Winds of Nagual was commissioned by the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble and is respectfully dedicated to its director, Frank Battisti.

Program Note by Michael Colgrass