American Guernica

This work has been identified for inclusion in the Small Band Repertoire Initiative. You may find discussion of the work's challenges and merits under the Discussion tab above. You may also contribute your own thoughts and recommendations by joining the WRP.

Adolphus Hailstork

General Info

Year: 1982 / 2008
Duration: c. 7:05
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: MMB Music Inc., through Keiser Southern Music
Cost: Score and Parts – Rental

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo (2 players)
Flute I-II-III
Oboe I-II-III
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Piano
Celesta
Timpani
Percussion I-VI, including:

Bass Drum
Chimes
Claves
Glockenspiel
Marimba
Siren
Suspended Cymbal
Tam-tams (2: medium and large)
Tenor Drum
Vibraphone
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

American Guernica was written in remembrance of the September 15, 1963, fire-bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, a racially motivated bombing that killed four young girls attending Sunday school (Carol Robertson, 14, Addie Mae Collins, 14, Cynthia Wesley, 14, and Denise McNair, 11), and injured twenty-two others. The elegy for this tragedy was delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King.

The work’s title refers to the famous mural by painter Pablo Picasso, which depicts the bombing of the Basque village Guernica by Nazi German and Fascist Italian warplanes on April 26, 1937, a tragic slaughter of mainly women and children. Hailstork’s score employs spatial notation and extended techniques to recount the bombing, outrage, and aftermath of the American tragedy.

- Program Note from University of Maryland Wind Orchestra concert program, March 10, 2017

Awards

Virginia College Band Directors National Contest, 1983, First Prize

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Nevada Wind Ensemble

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Morningside University (Sioux City, Ia.) Wind Ensemble (Martin I. Gaines, conductor) - 2 April 2023
University of Iowa (Iowa City) Symphony Band (John Carmichael, conductor) - 1 March 2023 (88th Annual ABA National Convention)
University of Florida (Gainesville) Wind Symphony (David Waybright, conductor) - 9 February 2023
University of Puget Sound (Tacoma, Wash.) Wind Ensemble (Gerard Morris, conductor) - 13 October 2022
Illinois State University (Normal) Wind Symphony (Anthony C. Marinello, conductor) – 8 April 2022 (CBDNA 2022 North Central Conference, Madison, Wisc.)
Middle Tennessee State University (Murfreesboro) Wind Ensemble (Denny Hawkins, conductor) - 10 February 2022
Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Mallory Thompson, conductor) - 22 October 2021
University of Miami (Fla.) Frost Bands (Robert Carnachan, conductor) - 2 May 2021
Luther College (Decorah, Ia.) Concert Band (Cory Near, conductor) - 21 March 2021
Wayne State College (Wayne, Neb.) Wind Ensemble (David Bohnert, conductor) - 23 February 2021
Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College Wind Symphony (Chris Miertschin, conductor) - 8 October 2020
Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge) Symphonic Winds (Kelvin Jones, conductor) – 3 March 2020
University of Wisconsin-Madison Wind Ensemble (Scott Teeple, conductor) – 16 February 2020
University of South Florida (Tampa) Symphonic Band (Marc S. Sosnowchek, conductor) – 26 November 2019
State University of New York Potsdam Symphonic Band (Brian K. Doyle, conductor) – 10 October 2019
Santa Clara (Calif.) University Wind Ensemble (Anthony Rivera, conductor) – 23 May 2019
Ball State University (Muncie, Ind.) Wind Ensemble (Cynthia Johnston Turner, conductor) – 16 February 2019
Rowan University (Glassboro, N.J.) Wind Ensemble (Joseph Higgins, conductor) – 28 April 2018
Nevada Wind Ensemble (Reno) (Reed Chamberlin, conductor) – 23 March 2018 (CBDNA 2018 Western/Northwestern Conference, Rohnert Park, Calif.)
Rowan University (Glassboro, N.J.) Concert Band (Joseph Higgins, conductor) – 1 March 2018
Miami University (Miami, Ohio) Wind Ensemble (Gary A. Speck, conductor) – 23 February 2018 (CBDNA 2018 North Central Conference, Kalamazoo, Mich.)

Works for Winds by This Composer

An American Fanfare
American Guernica (1982/2008)
American Guenica (ed. Levine) (1982/2021)
An American Port of Call (arr. Johnson) (1985/2022)
And Deliver Us from Evil
Celebration! (1975/2019)
Fanfare on "Amazing Grace" (tr. Patterson) (2011/)
New Wade'n Water (2000)
Norfolk Pride
Out of the Depths (1974)
Queen Ceremonial
Scherzo from "Symphony No. 3" (tr. Cannon) (2003/)
Spiritual (1984)
Starburst

Resources

Adolphus Hailstork website Accessed 13 February 2020
Hailstork, A. (1982). American Guernica: Band (1982) [score]. MMB Music: St. Louis, Mo.
The Horizon Leans Forward..., compiled and edited by Erik Kar Jun Leung, GIA Publications, 2021, p. 344.
Perusal Score
Williams, Cheldon R. "American Guernica." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 12, Compiled and edited by Andrew Trachsel, 513-520. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2021.