Cloudburst

From Wind Repertory Project
Eric Whitacre

Eric Whitacre


General Info

Year: 1995 / 2001
Duration: c. 9:00
Difficulty: IV-1/2 (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts - $165.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
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 I-II
Piano
Handbells
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Chimes
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Crotales
  • Mark Tree
  • Slapstick
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tam-tam
  • Vibraphone
  • Wind Chimes (glass)

Players singing, whispering and snapping fingers


Errata

Measure 1

  • All singing parts: & of 2: The printed concert C-naturals should be concert C-flats to produce a minor chord rather than major.
    • (Picc, Fl, Ob, Bssn, Tbn, Bar, Tuba, Timp, Perc 3… printed C-natural should be Cb)
    • (AltoSx, BariSx, printed A-natural should be Ab)
    • (TenorSx, Tpts, printed D-natural should be Db)
    • (Horns printed G-natural should be Gb)

Measure 11

  • Bari Sax: Beat 1, Printed A-natural should be Ab

Measure 17

  • Horn 3/4: Third note of the super-triplet should be Eb 4 (an octave lower than printed)

Measure 20-24

  • (See pictures in .pdf file for changes to Clarinet 1,2,3, Tenor Sax, Horn 3, and Bass Trombone | Cloudburst Errata PDF

Measure 20-24

  • Bassoon 2: Should play same notes as bassoon 1
  • Trombone 2: Should play same notes as trombone 1

Measure 22

  • Trumpet 1: printed C should be Gb (hold from previous note)
  • Trumpet 2: printed Ab should be Eb (hold from previous note)
  • Trumpet 3: Printed Eb should be Bb (hold from previous note)

Measure 28-29

  • Trombone 1: & of 4 , the first trombone should move down (from beat 4 to & of 4) to play the G with the second trombone, and hold that G through the half note in measure 29.

Measure 30

  • Vibes: & of 2: The printed C-natural should be a Cb

Measure 35

  • Horn 3/4: beat 4: printed D-natural should be Db

Measure 37-8

  • Horn 3/4: Both D-naturals should be Db

Measure 39

  • Horn 3/4: beat 2-4: printed F’s should be Eb’s (The two 8th-note F’s on Beat 1 are correct)

Measure 43

  • Trumpet 1: beat 3: printed A-natural should be Ab
  • Trombone 1: beat 3: printed G-natural should be Gb
  • Bass Trombone: beat 3: printed G-natural should be Gb

Measure 44

  • Horn 3: beat 4: printed F should be the Bb above

Measure 57-58

  • Bass Clarinet: beat 3: printed A-natural should be Ab

Measure 62

  • Trumpet 2: beat 3: printed C-natural should be C#

Measure 67

  • Bass Clarinet: beat 1: printed B-natural should be the A below

Measure 67-69

  • Bass Clarinet: All notes in these measures should be written D’s but retain rhythm

Measure 69-71

  • Clarinet 1: notes should retain rhythm but make the following changes
    • Bb changes to F below
    • C changes to F below
    • Bb changes to Eb below

Measure 70-71

  • Trumpet 2: notes should retain rhythm but make the following changes:
    • C changes to F above
    • Bb changes to Eb above

Measure 71

  • Trombone 2: printed G-natural should be Gb

Measure 99-101

  • Bari Sax: beat 4: printed E-natural should be F (stay on F from previous note) Stay on F for the next two measures


Program Notes

After a performance of Go, Lovely Rose in 1991, Dr. Jocelyn K. Jensen approached me about writing a piece for her high school choir. She is an amazing conductor, legendary for doing crazy things on stage (choralography, lighting, costumes, you name it), and I wanted to write something for her that would really knock the audience out. I had recently been given an exquisite book of poems by Octavio Paz, and around the same time I witnessed an actual (breathtaking) desert cloudburst, and I guess it just all lined up.

The finger snapping thing (all of the singers snap their fingers to simulate rain) is an old campfire game that I modified for the work, and the thunder sheets were giant pieces of tin we took from the side of the school.

The piece was originally about ten minutes long, but Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe sagely convinced me to “tighten it up”. I did, and the piece (now a lean eight and a half minutes) was finally published in 1995.

- Program Notes by composer


Media


State Ratings

  • Iowa: IV
  • Louisiana: IV
  • Michigan: Senior High AA
  • Minnesota: I
  • Tennessee: V


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • North Carolina State University (Raleigh) Wind Ensemble (Paul Garcia, conductor) - 8 March 2023
  • Pittsburg (Kan.) State University Wind Ensemble (Andrew Chybowski, conductor) - 22 April 2021
  • Ashland (Ohio) University Wind Ensemble (Joseph Lewis Jr., conductor) - 21 March 2021
  • University of Northwestern – St. Paul (Roseville, Minn.) (John S. Herlihy, conductor) – 15 November 2019
  • State University of New York, Fredonia, All College Band (Carrie Pawelski, conductor) – 2 October 2019
  • University of Oklahoma (Norman) Boomer Band (Brian Britt, conductor) – 18 April 2019
  • Colorado State University (Fort Collins) Concert Band (Erik Johnson, conductor) – 3 March 2019
  • Rowan University (Glassboro, N.J.) Concert Band (Joseph Higgins, conductor) 28 February 2019
  • University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) Symphony Band (Evan Feldman, conductor) – 26 February 2019
  • Troy (Ala.) University Concert Band (Rad Bolt, conductor) - 30 April 2018
  • University of Miami (Fla.) Frost Symphonic Winds (Steven Moore, conductor) – 25 April 2018
  • Florida State University (Tallahassee) Concert Band (Michael Griffith, conductor) – 12 February 2018
  • Atascadero (Calif.) Community Band (Garson Olivieri, conductor) – 5 March 2017
  • Tallahassee (Fla.) Winds (David Plack, conductor) – 21 February 2017
  • Association of Concert Bands Convention Band (Pittsburgh, Penn.) (James Gourley, conductor) – 2 April 2016 (ACB 2016 Annual Convention (Pittsburgh, Penn.))
  • Dallas (Texas) Winds (Eric Whitacre, conductor) – 22 March 2016
  • University of California, Santa Barbara, Wind Ensemble (Paul Bambach, conductor) - 28 May 2015
  • Atascadero (Calif.) Community Band (Randy Schwalbe, conductor) - 2 November 2014
  • Austin Peay State University Symphonic Band (John Schnettler, conductor) - 5 March 2013
  • VanderCook College of Music Band (Chicago, Ill.) (Eric Whitacre, conductor) – 20 December 2002 (2002 Midwest Clinic)


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

  • The Seal Lullaby (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Ambrose) (2011/2021)
  • Sing Gently (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Mösenbichler-Bryant) (2020/2021)


All Wind Works


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