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Year of the Dragon
Contents |
General Info
Year: 1985
Duration: c. 12:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Studio Music
Cost: Score and Parts - £80.00 | Score Only - £10.00
Movements
1 Toccata - 3:38
2 Interlude - 7:30
3 Finale - 4:45
Instrumentation
Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Cor Anglais
Bassoon I-II
Eb Clarinet
Bb Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
Eb Alto Clarinet
Bb Bass Clarinet I-II
Alto Saxophone I-II
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone
Bb Cornet I-II-III
Bb Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium BC and TC
Bass
Timpani
Other percussion, including:
- Glock
- Tam Tam
- Snare Drum
- Bass Drum
- Bells
- Xylophone
- Tambourine
- Crash Cymbals
- Wood Block
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
The highlight of Cory’s centenary celebrations throughout 1984 was a concert held in St. David’s Hall, Cardiff, in March. The band, with the aid of funds provided by the Welsh Arts Council, commissioned Philip Sparke to write a work for first performance at this concert. The result was The Year of the Dragon of which the composer writes:
“At the time I wrote The Year of the Dragon, Cory had won two successive National Finals and I set out to write a virtuoso piece to display the talents of this remarkable band to the full.”
The work is in three movements:
TOCCATA opens with an arresting side drum figure and snatches of themes from various sections of the band, which try to develop until a broad and powerful theme from the middle of the band asserts itself. A central dance-like section soon gives way to the return of this theme, which subsides until faint echoes of the opening material fade to a close.
INTERLUDE takes the form of a sad and languid solo for English horn, originally trombone. A chorale for the whole band introduces a brief spell of optimism but the trombone solo returns to close the movement quietly.
FINALE is a real tour-de-force for the band with a stream of rapid semi-quavers running throughout the movement. The main theme is heroic and march-like but this is interspersed with lighter, more playful episodes. A distant fanfare to the sound of bells is introduced and this eventually returns to bring the work to a stirring close.
Commercial Discography
Audio Links
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Recent Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- California Poly San Luis Obispo Wind Ensemble (Andrew McMahan, conductor) - 17 November 2012
- San Luis Obispo Wind Orchestra (Williams V. Johnson, conductor) - 27 October 2012
- San Luis Obispo Wind Orchestra (William V. Johnson, conductor) - 20 March 2010
Works for Winds by this Composer
- Atlantic Odyssey (2010)
- Ballad for Benny
- Bandwagon
- Barn Dance and Cowboy Hymn
- Between the Two Rivers
- Big Sky Overture
- Cambridge Intrada
- Camelot Chronicles, The
- Carnival
- Carol of the Shepherds
- Celebration
- Centurion, The (Concert March)
- Chorale and Variations
- Clarinet Calypso
- Colorado Springs
- Concert Prelude
- Concerto for Clarinet
- Dance Movements
- Diversions - Variations on a Swiss Folk Song
- Earth, Water, Sun, Wind
- An English Sea Song Suite
- Euphonium Concerto No. 2
- Fanfare for Saint Cecilia
- Fanfare, Romance and Finale
- Fantasy for Euphonium
- Festive Tribute, A (J.S. Bach)
- Fiesta!
- Fiesta de la Vida
- Five Festive Fanfares
- Flying the Breeze
- Four Norfolk Dances
- Harlequin
- Hanover Festival
- Huntingdon Celebration
- Infinity and Beyond...
- Invictus
- Jubilee Overture
- Land of the Long White Cloud, The
- Masquerade
- Music of the Spheres
- Navigation Inn
- Orient Express
- Out of the Darkness, Into the Light
- Pioneers, The (2005)
- Sierra Nevada
- Sinfonietta No. 1
- Sinfonietta No. 2
- Suite from Hymn of the Highlands
- Sunrise at Angel's Gate
- Tameside Overture
- To a New Dawn
- Wilten Festival Overture
- Year of the Dragon (1985)
Additional Resources
