Cathedrals

Kathryn Salfelder

General Info

Year: 2008
Duration: c. 6:15
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Cost: Score and Parts – $95.00 | Score Only – $15.00

Instrumentation

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

Bass Drum
China Cymbal
Crotales (2 octaves)
Glockenspiel
Marimba
Suspended Cymbals (2: small and medium)
Tam-tam
Temple Blocks (5)
Toms (4)
Vibraphone
Wood Block
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Cathedrals is a fantasy on Gabrieli’s Canzon Primi Toni from the Sacrae Symphoniae, which dates from 1597. Written for St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, the canzon is scored for two brass choirs, each comprised of two trumpets and two trombones. The choirs were stationed in opposite balconies of the church according to the antiphonal principal of cori spezzati (broken choirs), which forms the basis of much of Gabrieli’s writing.

Cathedrals is an adventure in "neo-renaissance" music, in its seating arrangement, antiphonal qualities, 16th century counterpoint, and canonic textures. Its form is structured on the golden ratio (1:0.618), which is commonly found not only in nature and art, but also in the motets and masses of Renaissance composers such as Palestrina and Lassus. The areas surrounding the golden section and its series of extrapolated subdivisions have audible characteristics, often evidenced by cadences, changes in texture, or juxtaposition of ideas.

The work is a synthesis of the old and the new, evoking the mystery and allure of Gabrieli’s spatial music, intertwined with the rich color palette, modal harmonies, and textures of woodwinds and percussion.

- Program Note from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Wind Ensemble concert program, 18 November 2011

Cathedrals was premiered on September 18, 2008, by conductor Gary W. Hill and the Arizona State University Wind Bands.

Awards

ASCAP/CBDNA Frederick Fennell Prize, 2008, winner

Media

Audio: Reference recording. New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble (Charles Peltz, conductor)
Audio CD: Nauqua Valley High School Wind Ensemble (Charles W. Staley, Jr., conductor) - 2009

State Ratings

Iowa: V
Indiana: ISSMA HIGH SCHOOL BAND GROUP I
Kansas: V
Mississippi: Band Class 6A
North Carolina: VI

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

University of Toronto (Ont., Can.) Wind Ensemble (Pratik Gandhi, conductor) – 1 April 2023
University of Illinois (Champaign) Wind Symphony (Kevin Geraldi, conductor) - 24 February 2023
University of North Carolina at Charlotte Wind Ensemble (Hunter Kopczynski, conductor) – 19 October 2022
University of Delaware (Newark) Wind Ensemble (Katie Rice, graduate conductor) – 14 October 2022
Cleveland State University (Ohio) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Birch Browning, conductor) – 20 April 2022
Texas Tech University (Lubbock) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Joel Pagan, conductor) – 29 March 2022
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Glenn C. Hayes, conductor) – 3 May 2021
University of Miami (Fla.) Frost Bands (Robert Carnachan, conductor) – 2 May 2021
University of Massachusetts (Amherst) Wind Ensemble (S. Franciosa, conductor) – 1 May 2021
University of North Texas (Denton) Wind Ensemble (Daniel Cook, conductor) – 15 April 2021
South Dakota State University (Brookings) Wind Symphony (Jacob Wallace, conductor) – 12 February 2021
University of North Florida (Jacksonville) Wind Symphony (Erin Bodnar, conductor) – 16 November 2020
Ball State University (Muncie, Ind.) Wind Ensemble (Thomas Caneva, conductor) – 8 February 2020
Pacific Lutheran University (Parkland, Wash.) Wind Ensemble (Edwin Powell, conductor) – 24 November 2019
California State University, Fullerton, Wind Symphony (Dustin Barr, conductor) – 22 November 2019
Oregon State University (Corvallis) Wind Symphony (Olin Hannum, conductor) – 21 November 2019
University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Symphony (Kevin Michael Holzman, conductor) – 2 November 2019
University of Kansas (Lawrence) Symphonic Band (Janelle Brower, conductor) – 2 May 2019
Rhode Island (Woonsocket) Wind Ensemble (Robert Franzblau, conductor) – 13 April 2019
Cleveland Winds (Cleveland, Ohio) (Birch Browning, conductor) – 7 April 2019
Arizona State University (Tempe) Wind Bands (Gary Hill, conductor) - 18 September 2008 *Premiere Performance*

Works for Winds by This Composer

Apotheosis (2018)
Canzona VI (arr. Salfelder) (<1612/2020?)
Canzoni XVI & XVII (as arranger, with Peltz) (1608/2021)
Cathedrals (2007)
Crossing Parallels (2009)
Insurgence (2018)
Prospect Hill (2016)
Reminiscence (2019)
Shadows Ablaze (2015)
Strata (2020)
Stylus Phantasticus 2012)
Ungrounded Base (2012)

Resources

"CATHEDRALS by Kathryn Salfelder (USA, 1987). " WASBE. Web. (Featured as WASBE’s Composition of the Week, 11 July 2022). Accessed 6 January 2023
Kathryn Salfelder website
Perusal score
Salfelder, K. (2008). Cathedrals [score]. Boosey & Hawkes: New York.