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April-England
John Foulds (trans. Keane Southard)
General Info
Year: 1926 / 2015
Duration: c. 6:50
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Piano
Publisher: Spindrift Pages
Cost: Score and Parts (PDF) - $135.00 | Score Only (PDF) - $20.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II-III-IV
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV-V-VI
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone
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
Bass Trombone
Euphonium I-II
Tuba I-II
Double Bass
Celeste
Harp
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:
- Bass Drum (large)
- Crash Cymbals
- Glockenspiel
- Marimba
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Triangle
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
One morning in 2010 while waking up to the radio, my half-awake ears heard an orchestral work that I instantly fell in love with. Luckily I was able to catch the name of the piece and composer, which happened to be John Foulds' April-England, and thus began my fascination with this composer and his music. It is unbelievable to me that Foulds and his music were virtually forgotten for the majority of the 20th century. In particular, this piece is truly an early 20th century masterpiece that I know performers and audiences would love to play and hear, and although it pales in comparison with Foulds' own versions (it was originally written for piano,) I wanted to create a transcription in order to share this great piece with wind ensembles.
Foulds wrote that “Such moments as those of the Solstices and Equinoxes always seem to be particularly potent to the creative artist, and no less significant the place in which he happens to be at the time,” and he dated the score of the original piano version as 21 March 1926, the first day of spring. He identified the opening triadic theme as “connected with the impression of April” and the stately melody that follows it (at rehearsal “A” in my transcription) with England. The beautiful middle section is based on a repeated ground bass as joyous counterpoint builds over it leading to an overwhelming climax.
- Program Note by Keane Southard
Media
None discovered thus far.
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Eastman School of Music (Rochester, N.Y.) Wind Ensemble (Mark Scatterday, conductor) - 15 April 2022
Works for Winds by This Composer
Resources
- Keane Southard website Accessed 15 April 2022
- MacDonald, Malcolm. John Foulds and His Music: An Introduction. Pro/Am Music Resources, 1989.
- MacDonald, Malcolm. John Foulds: His Life in Music: with a Detailed Catalogue of His Works, a Discography, a Bibliographical Note, and with Music Examples and Illustrations. Triad Press., 1975