Beowulf

W. Francis McBeth

W. Francis McBeth

Subtitle: An Heroic Trilogy

This work bears the designation Opus 71.

General Info

Year: 1986
Duration: c. 9:30
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Southern Music Co.
Cost: Score and Parts - $130.00   |   Score Only - $15.00

Movements

1. Herot: The Great Hall
2. Grendel: The Scion of Cain
3. Beowulf: A Feast of Life

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II-III
Oboe I-II
Bassoon
E-flat Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium (Bass Clef & Treble Clef)
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion, including:

• Bass Drum
• Snare Drum
• Crash Cymbals
• Chimes
• Glockenspiel

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Commissioned by and dedicated to Harry Pfingsten and the Avon Lake High School Shoremen Band, Avon Lake, Ohio.

- Program Note by publisher

Beowulf is an Old English epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines. It is possibly the oldest surviving long poem in Old English and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of Old English literature. It was written in England some time between the 8th and the early 11th century. The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred to by scholars as the "Beowulf poet".

The poem is set in Scandinavia. Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hroðgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland (Götaland in modern Sweden) and later becomes king of the Geats. After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is fatally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants bury him in a tumulus, a burial mound, in Geatland.

- Program Note from Wikipedia

Commercial Discography

None discovered thus far.

State Ratings

• Arkansas: V
• Georgia: VI
• Iowa: IV
• Indiana: ISSMA SENIOR BAND GROUP I
• Kansas: V
• Louisiana: V
• Michigan: Senior High A
• New York: Concert Band VI
• North Carolina: VI
• Oklahoma: V-A
• South Carolina: VI
• Tennessee: V
• Virginia: VI

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

• Western Illinois University (Macomb) Showcase Honor Band (Robert Meunier, conductor) – 22 February 2020
• Encore Winds (Traverse City, Mich.) (Timothy Topolewski, conductor) - 15 March 2018
• Tinley Park (Ill.) High School (Vince Aiello, conductor) – 28 April 2016
• Middle Tennessee State University (Murfreesboro) Symphonic Band (Craig Cornish, conductor) – 1 March 2012
• San Luis Obispo (Calif.) Wind Orchestra (William V. Johnson, conductor) – 5 December 1999

Works for Winds by this Composer

• Air and Dance
• Annabel Lee
• Beowulf (1966)
• Canto (1977)
• Capriccio Concertant
• Cavata
• Chant and Jubilo (1963)
• Divergents
• Drammatico
• Dream Catcher
• Estampie (1999)
• Flourishes (1982)
• Grace Praeludium (1982)
• Joyant Narrative
• Kaddish (1976)
• Land of El Dorado, The
• Lauds and Tropes
• Masque (1968)
• Of Sailors and Whales (1989)
• Praises
• The Sea Treaders (1996)
• Symphonic Dance No. 1, "Comanche Ritual" (as transcriber) (1965/2013)
• They Hung Their Harps in the Willows (1988)
• Through Countless Halls of Air (1995)
• To Be Fed By Ravens
• When Honor Whispers and Shouts
• When Rossi Strikes
• Wine From These Grapes (1992)

References

• Beowulf, Wikipedia
• McBeth, W. (1986). Beowulf: An Heroic Trilogy [score]. Southern Music: San Antonio, Tex.