American Games
General Info
Year: 1991 / 1996
Duration: c. 20:20
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Faber Music
Cost: Score and Parts - $99.00 | Score Only - $24.95
Instrumentation
Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II (II doubling Alto Flute)
Oboe I-II-III
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba I-II
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:
- Bass Drum
- Claves
- Crash Cymbals
- Glockenspiel
- Gong (or Tam-tam)
- Rattle
- Side Drum
- Suspended Cymbal (medium and large)
- Tambourine
- Tenor Drum
- Triangle
- Whip
- Woodblock
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
American Games was commissioned by the BBC for the 1991 Promenade Concerts. Affectionately inscribed to our friends in Washington, D.C. It was premiered on July 23, 1991, by the Royal Northern College of Music Wind Band, Timothy Reynish, conductor on the BBC Promenade Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London.
- "Program Note from score"
When Nicholas Maw was asked to write a work for wind band, the medium suggested to him associations with American youth and vigor, city and small-town life, sporting events and other outdoor occasions, and in more general terms the sense which the United States can still convey of unlimited space and boundless possibilities. At the same time, there are only a few elements of American Games that belong to specifically American musical traditions: what Maw calls a “whiff of marching bands” in the first movement, a few hints here and there of the harmonies and voicing of jazz arrangers, and, in the sixth movement, a chorale which the composer describes as “my version of a Baptist hymn”.
As for the other half of the title, the word “games” indicates that this was a work which was enjoyable to write: by Maw’s standards, it was finished unusually quickly. It is also intended to provide enjoyment for its players and for its audiences. The different sections of the symphonic wind ensemble are highlighted in turn in seven strongly characterized movements, the last an extended quick finale. These are framed by an introduction and coda, and the whole work is played in a continuous sequence lasting about 20 minutes.
- Program Note by Erin Petti for the State University of New York, Fredonia, Wind Ensemble concert program, 25 February 2017
Media
State Ratings
- Alabama: Class AA
- Massachusetts: VI
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester) Wind Ensemble (Clark Rundell, conductor) - 29 June 2023
- University of North Florida (Jacksonville) Wind Symphony (Erin Bodnar, conductor) – 19 February 2020
- State University of New York, Fredonia, Wind Ensemble (Paula Holcomb, conductor) – 25 February 2017
- Satellite High School Wind Ensemble - 2010
- Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge) Wind Ensemble (Frank B. Wickes, conductor) – 27 February 1999 (CBDNA 1999 National Conference, Austin, Tx.)
Works for Winds by This Composer
None discovered thus far.
Resources
- Maw, N. (1996). American Games: For Symphonic Wind Ensemble (1991) [score]. Faber Music: London.
- Miles, Richard B., and Larry Blocher. 2002. Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Volume 4. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 749-754.
- Spurlin, Adam Corey A Conductor's Theoretical and Performance Analysis of Nicholas Maw's "American Games" for Symphonic Wind Ensemble [Doctoral Dissertation].