American Scene, The
William Grant Still (arr. by the composer; ed. Dane Teter)
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General Info
Year: 1957
Duration:
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: William Grant Still Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $250.00 | Section Only (print) - $60.00
Sections
1. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – 6:13
2. New Orleans Street – 2:35
3. Berkshire Night – 3:40
4. Tribal Dance – 1:40
Instrumentation
(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
The American Scene, composed in 1957, consists of five suites for orchestra which depict life, scenery, and culture in various parts of the United States. The themes are original ones written in some of the American idioms. The work was commissioned by Adrian Michaelis for the Standard School Broadcasts. Some of the suites aired on the NBC Western Network from 1959 to 1960.
The excerpts for band were arranged by the composer.
Suite 1: The East is dedicated to Marjorie Lange. Berkshire Night is subtitled "Tranquility."
Suite 2: The South is dedicated to Miriam Matthews. A New Orleans Street is subtitled "The festie spirit of yesterday." The Creole idiom is employed to picture the festive spirit of Mardi Gras.
Suite 3: The Old West is dedicated to Joseph Portonova.
Suite 4: The Far West is dedicated to the Pasadena Interracial Woman's Club.
Suite 5: A Mountain, a Memorial, and a Song is dedicated to Mrs. Helen Thompson. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is subtitled "Our boys will never be forgotten." The subtitle of Grand Teton is "A symbol of America's strength."
- Program Note provided by Erica Neidlinger
Media
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State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Bowling Green (Ohio) State University Concert Band (Bruce Moss, conductor) - 3 December 2021
- Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo) Concert Band (Erica Neidlinger, conductor) – 23 February 2018 (CBDNA 2018 North Central Conference, Kalamazoo, Mich.)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Africa: Land of Superstition (arr. Tam)
- Afro-American Symphony for Band (arr. West Point Military Academy) (1930/1970)
- Afro-American Symphony. See also: Symphony No. 1
- Scherzo from "The Afro-American Symphony" (1930/1970)
- The American Scene (1957)
- Choreographic Prelude (arr. Lloyd) (1970)
- Dances in the Canebrakes (as orchestrator; arr. Brown) (1953/)
- Entrances of the Porteuses (arr. Perna; ed. Lloyd)
- Fanfare for American War Heroes (arr. Lloyd) (1942 / )
- Fanfare for the 99th Fighter Squadron
- Folk Suite for Band (1966)
- Frisco Jazz Band Blues (1919)
- From the Delta (1945)
- The Hesitating Blues (as arranger) (1916)
- Kaintuck' (tr. Perna) (1935)
- Land of Peace
- Little Folk Suite from the Western Hemisphere
- Little Red Schoolhouse (arr. Steele) (1957/1977)
- Miniatures (1963)
- Old California
- Rising Tide. See: Victory Tide
- "Scherzo" for Band. See: Afro-American Symphony for Band
- Song of the City. See: Victory Tide
- Summerland: From Three Visions (arr. Teter) (1937/2013)
- Summerland: For Wind Ensemble (arr. Teter) (1937/2013)
- Symphony No. 1 (1931/1946)
- Symphony No. 1. See also: Afro-American Symphony for Band
- To You, America! (1952/1956)
- Victory Tide (1939/1942/1945)
- Wood Notes (arr. Mauldin) (1948/1959/2022)
Resources
- Erica Neidlinger, personal correspondence, February 2018