Canzona (Mennin)

From Wind Repertory Project
Peter Mennin

Peter Mennin (ed. Justin Tokke)


General Info

Year: 1951 / 2020
Duration: c. 4:50
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Carl Fischer, Inc.
Cost: Score and Parts - $90.00   |   Score Only - $20.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano 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
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal


Errata

In Score:

Pages 12, 13, 14 & 15: The lines labeled "Bar." and Bs" are actually the trombone lines, and the lines labeled "Trom" are actually the Baritone and Bass (Tuba) lines. The lines occur in the correct staff score order on these pages; they were just mislabeled Bar. and Bs. above the two trombone lines. (These errors have been corrected in the most recent edition (2019) from Carl Fischer.)

In Score and Parts:

  • Score and Trombone II, m.52, beat 4: The first eighth note should be a G♭, not a G♮ as printed (should match B. Cl, Bsn, Bs, St. B, etc.) (These errors have been corrected in the most recent edition (2019) from Carl Fischer.)
  • Euphonium, m.45, bottom line: B natural should be B-flat. (This error has NOT been corrected in the most recent edition (2019) from Carl Fischer.)


Program Notes

Canzona is a short, brisk work, which opens with a declamatory idea expressed in massed sonorities. Next, a broad melodic line is introduced and supported by powerful rhythmic figurations. This is followed by a cantabile section. These materials are developed and expanded, and the piece closes with the opening statements brought back in a more dramatic presentation.

Canzona was commissioned by Edwin Franko Goldman through The League of Composers, and was premiered by the Eastman Wind Ensemble, Frederick Fennell conducting, in New York on 15 June 1951.

- Program Note by Peter Mennin


Peter Mennin had a free-spirited approach that fell into no particular school of compositional style. In fact, he disliked the idea of compositional schools and held strong opinions about the compositional process. It was unthinkable for him to write in a style interchangeable with that of another composer. Mennin firmly believed that a composition should state something personal and that it must come from within. He said, “A composer can’t rely on outside stimuli. I would continue to be a composer whether I were here or in Timbuktu.” Mennin's craft was directed toward achieving a dramatic whole. He was adept at his use of motives and their exposition, and did not try to fit his ideas into anything resembling sonata form. His melodies are exceedingly long with no particular antecedent-consequent phrase structure and no strong dependence on the bar line. His sense of harmony restores select triads to important levels of power and gives them contemporary significance by such means as added notes, bitonality, and a kind of inflection unknown in the 19th century. Canzona is the only piece that Mennin wrote for band.

- Program note by New Trier High School Symphonic Wind Ensemble concert program, 20 December 2012


Mennin composed his Canzona in 1951 as a part of the continuing series of commissions from Edwin Franko Goldman, in cooperation with the New York League of Composers and it was premiered the same year by the famed Goldman Band.

The concept of the canzona as set forth here is not that of lyrical song implied by the name, but rather that of the early Baroque canzona by Gabrieli in the late 16th century in Venice. Using the reeds and brasses of the band, Mennin has created a stunning essay of contrasting sonorities in a 20th-century manner.

- Program Note from Lee University Wind Ensemble concert program, 23 November 2015


Canzona was commissioned in 1950 by prestigious band director Edwin Franko Goldman. Goldman believed that the future of the concert band required the development of a significant repertoire from contemporary composers. At the time the work was commissioned, many composers felt that they could not advance their careers by writing for concert band. It is not clear if this was a sentiment shared by Peter Mennin, as Canzona is the only work that he composed for concert band.

Mennin chose the title in homage to the late Renaissance instrumental forms of that name. Canzoni were particularly popular with Giovanni Gabrieli, who used the acoustics of the Cathedral of St. Mark in Venice to provide contrasting, antiphonal statements from opposing brass voices. Mennin has introduced that same polyphony into his composition and combined it with modern harmony and structure. Woodwinds and brass alternately reinforce and complement each other. Even during the solo passages, the tempo marking of Allegro Deciso underscores the powerful rhythms and themes.

- Program Note from Kennesaw State University Concert Band concert program, 19 April 2016


Media


State Ratings

  • Alabama: Class AA
  • Arkansas: V
  • Florida: V
  • Georgia: VI
  • Indiana: ISSMA SENIOR BAND GROUP I
  • Iowa: V
  • Kansas: V
  • Louisiana: V
  • Maryland: VI
  • Massachusetts: IV
  • Michigan: Senior High AA
  • Minnesota: I
  • Mississippi: VI-A
  • New York: Concert Band VI
  • North Carolina: VI
  • Oklahoma: V-A
  • South Carolina: VI
  • Tennessee: VI
  • Texas: V. Complete
  • Virginia: VI


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Appalachian State University Wind Ensemble (Joe Figliolo, conductor) - 24 March 2024
  • Texas All-State Concert Band (Rebecca Phillips, conductor) – 10 February 2024 (2024 TMEA Conference, San Antonio)
  • Kansas State University Wind Ensemble (Sharyn Worcester, conductor) - 29 November 2023
  • The Naperville (Ill.) Winds (Sean Kelley, conductor) - 12 October 2023
  • Chicago Wind Symphony (Chicago, Ill.) (Michael McCain, conductor) - 28 October 2023
  • Pinnacle Winds (Grandview, Mo.) (John C. Carmichael, conductor) - 12 February 2023
  • Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Wind Symphony (Rubén Darío Gómez) conductor - December 7, 2022
  • Nicholls State University (Thibodaux, La.) Wind Ensemble (Jason Ladd, conductor) - 3 November 2022
  • University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Symphony (Brendan Boyle, conductor) - 30 September 2022
  • National Concert Band of America (Alexandria, Va.) (Adrian Holton, conductor) - 1 May 2022
  • Pacific Lutheran University (Parkland, Wash.) Wind Ensemble (Edwin Powell, conductor) - 10 October 2021
  • Eastern Illinois University (Charleston) Wind Symphony (Alicia Neal, conductor) - 4 May 2021
  • Ouachita Baptist University (Arkadelphia, Ark.) Wind Ensemble (Jim Lloyd, conductor) - 16 March 2021
  • Western Illinois University (Macomb) Wind Ensemble (Mike Fansler, conductor) - 6 March 2021
  • University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Wind Ensemble (Glenn Hayes, conductor) - 25 November 2020
  • Dordt University (Sioux Center, Iowa) Wind Symphony (Onsby C. Rose, conductor) - 21 November 2020
  • Pacific Lutheran University (Parkland, Wash.) Wind Ensemble (Edwin Powell, conductor) – 15 March 2020
  • West Chester University (Penn.) Wind Symphony (M. Gregory Martin, conductor) – 1 March 2020
  • Central Michigan University (Mount Pleasant) Symphony Band (James Batcheller, conductor) – 27 February 2020
  • High School Symphonic Band [Interlochen, Mich.] (Frederick Fennell, conductor) - 15 August 1998


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources