Armenian Rhapsody No 1

Eduard de Boer

Eduard de Boer (as Alexander Comitas)

General Info

Year: 1990
Duration: c. 18:06
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Bronsheim Music
Cost: Score and Parts - €237.00

Instrumentation

Piccolo (doubling Flute III)
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Clarinet
B-flat Solo Clarinet
B-flat Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Baritone I-II-III
E-flat Bass (Tuba)
C Bass (Tuba) I-II
Contrabass
Timpani
Percussion, including:

Bass Drum
Bongo
Conga
Crash Cymbal
Snare Drum
Tam-tam
Tom-tom
Triangle

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

This is the first piece I wrote for wind orchestra, after I had written quite a lot for symphony orchestra.

The Introduction starts with the melody that is well known in Armenia, Dle Yaman, a song of complaint. This melody returns at the end of the third movement -- a shalakho dance, where the motives from the previous movements all reappear -- in a glorious C major.

- Program note by composer

Armenian Rhapsody No. 1 is commissioned in 1990 by "Fonds voor de Scheppende Toonkunst", a fund in Netherlands, and dedicated to Pierre Kuijpers, the conductor of Royal Netherlands Army Band. It later served as a compulsory piece during the First Open Dutch Championship for concert division wind orchestras, in Kerkrade in 1995.

This work consists of five connected sections, using four Armenian folksongs: Introduction (Dle Yaman) - Vartianik - Shiraki Gevondi - Interlude - Shalakho.

- Program Note adapted from Wikipedia