Angels in the Architecture

From Wind Repertory Project
Angels in the Architecture

Frank Ticheli


General Info

Year: 2009
Duration: 14:35
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Manhattan Beach Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $395.00   |   Score Only (print) - $125.00

For additional availability information, see Discussion tab, above.


Instrumentation

Full Score
Solo Soprano (or Boy Soprano)
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II (II doubling English Horn)
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II (II div. a2)
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium (div. a2)
Tuba
String Bass
Celesta (or piano an octave higher than notated)
Organ (optional)
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:

  • Bass Drums (3: 2 pedal and 1 concert)
  • Bell Tree
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Chimes (optional 2 players on either side of the stage)
  • China Cymbals (2)
  • Glockenspiel (extended low range required (low F3), check errata for lower octave addition)
  • Marimba (4.6 octaves)
  • Ratchet
  • Slapstick (large)
  • Snare Drums (2)
  • Suspended Cymbals (3: medium, medium-large and large)
  • Tam-tam
  • Temple Blocks (4)
  • Tom-toms (3)
  • Triangles (2: medium-large and large)
  • Vibraphone (motor off)
  • Vibraslap
  • Whirlies (3: tuned to B-flat4, C5 and E-flat5)
  • Wine Glasses (4: tuned to C5, E-flat5, F5 and G5)
  • Xylophone (3.5 octaves)

Players humming


Errata

Errata for all Ticheli works
This list includes errata posted on Manhattan Beach Music's website and other errors not listed on website


In Score:

  • Trombone II & III, m. 46: There should be an "a2" marking on beat 1
  • String Bass, m. 99: Add an accent to the E natural on beat 1


In Parts:

  • Oboe I, m. 61-62: oboe I part contains pitches which are not present in the score. The notes, which are covered by alto sax I, should not be played by the oboist. In other words, the score is correct.
  • Trombone III, m. 35: Both notes should have an accent + staccato
  • Trombone III, m. 99, beat 1: B-flat should have an accent + staccato
  • Percussion III, m. 132: Missing rehearsal mark "132"
  • Percussion III, m. 206-207: Missing 2 bars of Xylophone, identical to Marimba's part but without accents. Check score if confused
  • Percussion III, m. 319-323: Add the lower octave F to the roll starting on beat 3 of m. 319 all the way through m. 323


In Score and Parts:

  • B-flat Soprano Clarinet III, m. 257: note on the and of 3 should be E-flat, not E-natural
  • B-flat Soprano Clarinet IV, m. 257: Note on the and of 3 should be E-flat, not E-natural
  • B-flat Contrabass Clarinet, m. 234: Note should be low A, not low G
  • B-flat Contrabass Clarinet, m. 236, beat 4: C should have an accent on it along with the staccato
  • E-flat Alto Saxophone I, m. 257: Note on the and of beat 3 should be B-flat, not B-natural
  • E-flat Baritone Saxophone, m. 56, beat 4: Slur should be removed to match the articulation of horns 3-4 and euphonium
  • Percussion II, Vibraphone, m. 42: Note on the and of 3 should be low C, not E-flat
  • Percussion III, Xylophone, m. 219, beat 2-3: Printed D-naturals on the and of beat 2 should be D-flats

- Potential errata noted by Matthew LeFebvre


Program Notes

Angels in the Architecture was commissioned by Kingsway International and received its premiere performance at the Sydney Opera House on July 6, 2008, by a massed band of young musicians from Australia and the United States, conducted by Mathew George. The work unfolds as a dramatic conflict between the two extremes of human existence -- one divine, the other evil. The work's title is inspired by the Sydney Opera House itself, with its halo-shaped acoustical ornaments hanging directly above the performance stage.

Angels in the Architecture begins with a single voice singing a 19th-century Shaker song:

I am an angel of Light
I have soared from above
I am cloth'd with Mother's love.
I have come, I have come.
To protect my chosen band
And lead them to the promised land.

This "angel" -- represented by the singer -- frames the work, surrounding it with a protective wall of light and establishing the divine. Other representations of light, played by instruments rather than sung, include a traditional Hebrew song of peace ("Hevenu Shalom Aleichem") and the well-known 16th-century Genevan Psalter, Old Hundredth. These three borrowed songs, despite their varied religious origins, are meant to transcend any one religion, representing the more universal human ideals of peace, hope, and love. An original chorale, appearing twice in the work, represents my own personal expression of these aspirations.

Just as Charles Ives did more than a century ago, Angels in the Architecture poses the unanswered question of existence. It ends as it began: the angel reappears sings the same comforting words. But deep below, a final shadow reappears -- distantly, ominously.

- Program Note by composer


Awards


Media


State Ratings

  • Georgia: VI
  • Iowa: V
  • Texas: V


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • California State University, Long Beach Symphonic Band (Adam Friedrich, conductor) - 2 March 2024
  • Pinnacle Winds (Kansas City, Mo.) (John Carmichael, conductor) – 11 December 2023
  • University of Texas at Arlington Symphonic Band and Winds (Christopher Evans, conductor) - 1 October 2023
  • University of North Texas (Denton) University Band (Amy Woody, conductor) - 12 April 2023
  • Luther College (Decorah, Iowa) Symphonic Band (Cory Near, conductor) - 11 April 2023
  • University of Southern California (Los Angeles) Thornton Wind Ensemble (Frank Ticheli, conductor; Michalea Kelly, soprano) - 10 February 2023
  • Nebraska Wind Symphony (Omaha) (Joshua Roach, conductor; Susanna Kearney, soprano) - 16 October 2022
  • State University of New York, Potsdam, Crane Concert Band (William L. Lake, Jr., conductor) - 6 April 2022
  • Southern Utah University (Cedar City) Wind Symphony (Adam Lambert, conductor; Ashley Brouwer, soprano) - 6 April 2021
  • Grove City (Penn.) College Wind Ensemble (Andrew S. Erb, conductor; Olivia Kane, soprano) – 25 March 2021
  • Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah) Wind Symphony (Donald Peterson, conductor; Courtney Lawson, soprano) – 12 November 2020
  • California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, Symphonic Winds (Rickey H. Badua, conductor; Guadalupe Ortiz, soprano) – 10 March 2020
  • Manhattan (N.Y.) Wind Ensemble (Sarah Fernandez, conductor) – 7 March 2020
  • University of South Alabama (Mobile) Wind Ensemble (Jason Rinehart, conductor) – 27 February 2020
  • Cleveland State University (Ohio) Symphonic Band (Birch Browning, conductor) – 27 February 2020
  • CBDNA East Intercollegiate Band (Philadelphia, Penn.) (Elizabeth Peterson, conductor) – 22 February 2020 (CBDNA 2020 Eastern Division Conference, Philadelphia, Penn.)
  • The Hartt Omni Wind Ensemble (Hartford, Conn.) (James E. Jackson III, conductor; Emily Rose-Walsh, vocalist) – 14 December 2019
  • University of Illinois (Champaign) Wind Orchestra (Beth Peterson, conductor) – 4 December 2019
  • Central Connecticut State University (New Britain) Wind Ensemble (Robert Schwartz, conductor; Savannah Moore, soprano) – 4 December 2019
  • Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Va.) Wind Ensemble (Brian Diller, conductor) – 20 November 2019
  • Concordia University (River Forest, Ill.) University Band (Richard R. Fischer, conductor) – 8 November 2019
  • University of Southern California (Los Angeles) Thornton Wind Ensemble (H. Robert Reynolds, conductor) – 14 April 2019 (Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles)


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources