Bohemian Revelry
General Info
Year: 2013
Duration: c. 15:20
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Maecenas Music
Cost: Score and Parts - £85.00 | Score Only - £24.00
Movements
1. Polka – 3:30
2. Furiant – 3:20
3. Sousdeka – 5:05
4. Scocna – 3:30
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass 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
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:
- Bass Drum
- Castanet
- Crash Cymbal
- Glockenspiel
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tambourine
- Triangle
- Tubular Bells
- Woodblock
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Bohemian Revelry is a tribute to the verve and vigour of the music of the people of the Czech Republic, but it is also a celebration of the other meaning of the word, meaning the artistic and social freedom of people without ties or responsibilities, allowing for a party atmosphere whenever and wherever possible, as painted so vividly and memorably in the second act of Puccini’s timeless masterpiece La Boheme.
The work is in four movements based on well-known Czech dances:
1. Polka: a moderate tempo dance in duple time, but with an unexpectedly violent conclusion.
2. Furiant: Very fast triple time with a more nostalgic middle section. Eventually the dance fades away lading into a
3. Sousdeka: A more relaxed dance in 3/4 with a pastoral feel
4. Scocna: Fast and lively duple time incorporating a hymn like melody drawn from a Czech Christmas carol. Drinks all round at the end!
Any reminiscences of a certain set of dances by a very well-known Czech composer should be heard as an act of homage rather than parody or plagiarisation.
- Program Note by composer
Awards
- Bohemian Revelry has been recommended as interesting, serious and distinctive music by members of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE).
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of Windsor (Ont., Can.) University Wind Ensemble (Trevor Pittman, conductor) - 25 November 2022
- WASBE Youth Wind Orchestra (Prague, Czech.) (Timothy Reynish, conductor) – 23 July 2022 (WASBE Conference, Prague, Czech Republic)
- University of North Texas (Denton) Wind Symphony (Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor) – 7 November 2019
- Toronto (Ont., Can.) Youth Wind Orchestra (Colin Clarke, conductor) – 10 July 2019 - WASBE Conference (Buñol, Spain)
- North Dakota State University (Fargo) Wind Symphony (Warren Olfert, conductor) – 4 May 2019
- University of Georgia (Athens) Hodgson Wind Ensemble (Timothy Reynish, conductor) – 23 April 2019
- New Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) Wind Sinfonia (Raymond Baril, conductor) – 17 July 2015 - WASBE Conference, San Jose, Calif.
- Harmonie St. Jozef Kaalheide (Björn Bus, conductor) – 19 October 2014
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- A Little Tango Music (Flex instrumentation) (2007/2020)
All Wind Works
- Adrenaline City (2006)
- African Samba (2006)
- Ascent (1996/2004)
- Awayday (1996)
- Awayday (arr. Wintringham) (1999/2015)
- Battle Symphony (1999)
- Bells Across the Atlantic (2013)
- Bermuda Triangle (1994)
- Bohemian Revelry (2013)
- Bohemian Revelry: For Chamber Ensemble (2013/2021)
- Bohemian Revelry (tr. Holland) (2013/2017)
- Bridgewater Breeze (1996)
- Candlelight Procession (2001)
- Concerto for Violin, Viola and Wind Ensemble (2022)
- Dances from Crete (2003)
- Downtown Diversions (2000)
- Eine Kleine Walzermusik (2009)
- Eine Kleine Yiddishe Ragmusik (2003)
- Elements (1998)
- Euphonium Concerto 1997
- Farewell (2008)
- French Dances Revisited (2004)
- A Little Salsa Music
- A Little Tango Music (2007)
- Metropolis (1992)
- Midnight in Buenos Aires (2007)
- Out of the Darkness (2023)
- Parade of the Wooden Warriors (1999)
- Pikes Peak (2017)
- Repercussions (2011)
- Scenes from an English Landscape
- Scenes from Bruegel (1994)
- Suite for Winds (1993)
- Summer Dances (2012)
- Sunrise and Safari (2006)
- Symphony No. 1 in C (2000)
- Three Way Suite
- Towards Nirvana (2002)
- Tranquility (2009)
- Viderunt Omnes (2014)
- Yiddish Dances (1997)
- Yiddish Dances (Chamber) (1997/2020)
Resources
- Adam Gorb website Accessed 19 April 2021
- Amundson, Bethany. "Bohemian Revelry." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 12, Compiled and edited by Andrew Trachsel, 745-751. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2021.
- Gorb, A. (2013). Bohemian Revelry: For Wind Orchestra [score]. Maecenas: Godstone.
- Kasper, M. (2022) Adam Gorb's Bohemian Revelry: a conductor's analysis and performance guide. Colorado State University. Masters Thesis.