Aesop's Fables

From Wind Repertory Project
Scott Watson

Scott Watson


General Info

Year: 1999 / 2005
Duration: c. 9:50
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Alfred Publications
Cost: Parts and Score: $80.00 | Score Only: $10.00


Movements

1. The Hare and the Tortoise - 2:45
2. The Boy Who Cried Wolf - 3:10
3. The Dog and the Bone - 1:05
4. The Wolf and His Shadow - 2:15


Instrumentation

Full Score
Narrator
Flute I-II
Oboe I
Bassoon I
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contra-Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Claves
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Orchestra Bells
  • Slap Stick (or Whip)
  • Sleigh Bells
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tam-Tam
  • Tambourine
  • Timpani
  • Triangle
  • Vibraphone
  • Wind Chimes
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Aesop's Fables, for narrator and band, musically portrays four tales attributed to the ancient moralist. The first two movements, The Hare and The Tortoise, and The Boy Who Cried Wolf, are based on two of Aesop's better-known stories. The Hare and the Tortoise is a fast chromatic caccia with a slight pause in the activity for a certain overconfident rabbit's brief nap! In The Boy who Cried Wolf the calm musical accompaniment provides a haunting counterpoint with a fatal drama.

The later two movements, The Dog and the Bone and The Wolf and his Shadow, are settings of two of Aesop's lesser-known fables. The Dog and the Bone is a brief, transparently scored instrumental sigh that mirrors the story's moral: the disappointment of coveting. The final movement, The Wolf and his Shadow, features the happy gigue of a wolf that mistakes his long shadow for actual stature and struts about in unfounded pride. Much to the wolf's dismay, it is the true king of beasts, the lion, who takes the last promenade!

- Program Note by composer


Media

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


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Rancho Cordova (Calif.) River City Concert Band (Tom Seaton, conductor; Dennis Cain, narrator) - 19 March 2023
  • Heart of Texas (San Antonio) Concert Band (R. Mark Rogers, conductor; J. Damian Gillen, narrator) - 30 January 2022
  • Capitol Region Wind Ensemble (Schenectady, N.Y.) (Brett Wery, conductor; William Bennett, narrator) - 20 May 2018
  • Vassar College and Community Wind Ensemble (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) (James Osborn, conductor) – 29 April 2018
  • Palisades High School (Nathaniel Kirby, conductor) - May 2008


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources

  • Scott Watson website
  • Watson, S.; Clark, M. (2005). Aesop's Fables [score]. Alfred Publishing: Van Nuys, Calif.