Auróra Musis Amíca
Subtitle: Fanfare for Canberra
General Info
Year: 2013
Duration: c. 2:50
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Australian Music Centre
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $40.32
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
Contrabassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
C Trumpet
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Tuba
Harp
Percussion, including:
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Glockenspiel
- Triangle
- Tubular Bells
- Vibraphone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
An uplifting and inspiring piece for young adult/student musicians, the pieces opens with a soundscape reminiscent of the dawn bursting into colour over a still lake. It then unfolds into an uplifting and hopeful fanfare before fading back into a wash of colours for the final bars.
Commissioned by the Canberra Grammar School as part of the Centenary of Canberra 2013 and the Canberra International Music Festival.
- Program Note from publisher
Here I am, contemplating the dawn again. This early morning time has become irresistible, a moment with my thoughts and with awesome splendor. Often there are no words that can express the awareness of the universe as I watch light wash over the horizon. Dawn is friend of the muses. Aurora musis amica.
- Program Note from score
Opening with a soundscape reminiscent of the dawn bursting into colour over a still lake, the piece unfolds into an uplifting and hopeful fanfare before fading back into a
wash of colours for the final bars.
Not a traditional fanfare, the piece evokes images of Canberra, Australia, located between Sydney to the north and Melbourne to the south. The opening bowed metallic percussion give a sense of that first ray of light coming from the horizon over Lake Burley Griffin and the towering National Carillon. With an ascending fifth, from G to D, the French horn summons the sun to rise further, stirring the Australian wildlife. In its entirety, the opening is a vivid crescendo leading to a remarkably clear and rich blue sky as solo trumpet gives the first statement of the fanfare, with a dance-like harmonic underpinning from the woodwinds.
Here I am, contemplating the dawn again.
This early morning time has become irresistible,
a moment with my thoughts and with awesome splendor.
Often there are no words that can express the awareness
of the universe as I watch light wash over the horizon.
Dawn is friend of the muses.
Aurora musis amica.
- Program Note by Eric Posner for the University of Victoria Wind Symphony concert program, 15 October 2021
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Arizona State University (Tempe) Wind Symphony (Kristen Zelenak, conductor) - 23 November 2021
- University of Victoria (B.C., Can.) Wind Symphony (Steven J. Capaldo, conductor) - 15 October 2021
- Contra Costa Wind Symphony (Walnut Creek, Calif.) (Brad Hogarth, conductor) – 8 March 2020
- Pacific Symphony (Costa Mesa, Calif.) Youth Wind Ensemble (Gregory X. Whitmore, conductor) – 17 November 2019
- University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) University Band (JoAnn Wieszczyk, conductor) – 1 March 2018
- Canberra Grammar Schools Music Departments (Craig Woodland, conductor) – 2013 *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Around the World (2011/2013)
- Auróra Musis Amíca (2013)
Resources
- Greenaway, S. (2013). Auróra Musis Amíca : fanfare for Canberra [score]. Australian Music Centre: New South Wales.
- The Horizon Leans Forward..., compiled and edited by Erik Kar Jun Leung, GIA Publications, 2021, p. 339.
- Sally Greenaway website Accessed 28 June 2018