Congo Square

James Syler

Subtitle: For African Drums and Wind Ensemble

General Info

Year: 2014
Duration: c. 12:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: James Syler
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $170.00 | Score Only (print) - $50.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II (I doubling Piccolo)
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV
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
Flugelhorn (antiphonal) Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba I-II
String Bass
Piano
Harp
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:

Bata Drums (small and large; or Congas and Bongos)
Bells
Boula Drum (large; or large Conga)
Djembe
Drum Set
Rainstick (or small Conga)
Suspended Cymbal (small)

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

New Orleans was founded by the French in 1718. Shortly thereafter, the first generation of enslaved arrived. By 1817 a city ordinance was passed confining Sunday slave celebrations to one location - a public space called Congo Square. Throughout its history Congo Square was also the site of public executions, a whipping post, and the buying and selling of slaves. It is a place of conflicting emotions and multi-layered meanings. Another often overlooked reality is the influence of mixed race Creole musicians in New Orleans and Congo Square. During the early 1800s music in New Orleans was often described as more Caribbean than African. This unique mix of African, Creole, and Caribbean is what I've tried to internalize as I wrote Congo Square.

The antiphonal flugelhorn is heard in the beginning and throughout the work as a kind of warning, similar in sound and meaning to the ancient blasts of the temple shofar. The African drum quartet represents the West African influence. It begins by quoting an authentic Konkoba war dance in 3/4. The polyrhythms of the quartet grow in intensity. The middle section quotes Salangadou, an old Creole song about a mother in search of her abducted child. Near the end of the work an early jazz style song emerges in a stomp style as the drummer plays a traditional New Orleans "second line" style groove, both of which suggest the new music that will eventually grow out of Congo Square. These three musics - the African drums, a Creole song, and early jazz styles - overlap and sound at the same time to produce the emotional zenith of the work. From the point of view of the past, we hear that past, its present, and future music simultaneously. My hope is that it will produce a reflective moment that gives the listener a deeper understanding of the multi-layered realities of Congo Square.

The music was commissioned by a consortium of 12 universities and completed in November 2014.

- Program Note by composer

Three of James Syler's works – Congo Square, Storyville, Minton's Playhouse – can be performed independently or as a larger trilogy titled Three Pieces in Jazz.

- Program Note by composer

Media

Audio: Reference recording. University of Louisiana – Lafayette (William Hochkeppel, conductor)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches, Tx.) Wind Ensemble (David Campo, conductor) – 8 October 2019
University of Louisiana Lafayette Wind Ensemble (William J. Hochkeppel, conductor)– 11 March 2018
Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton) Wind Ensemble (Kyle Prescott, conductor) – 29 November 2017
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Concert Band (Courtney Snyder, conductor) – 4 October 2017
University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Symphonic Band (Kevin Geraldi, conductor) – 17 February 2017
University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Wind Ensemble (Carolyn Barber, conductor) – 2016

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Blue-Bop (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
Hard Times Come Again No More (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1854/2020)
Mam-Blu (Flex instrumentation) (2006/2020)
The Road Not Taken (Flex instrumentation) (1993/2020)
Scintilla (Flex instrumentation) (2018/2020)

All Wind Works

Blue-Bop (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
A Blue Streak (2010)
Cantique (2012)
Congo Square (2016)
Country Bandstand (2002)
Fantasia on Brother James' Air (2023)
Fantasia on "Silent Night" (2011)
Fields (1994)
Galop (as transcriber) (c. 1909/2013)
Gearbox (2009)
Hard Times Come Again No More (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1854/2020)
The Harmonious Blacksmith (as arranger) (1720/2020)
Hocus Pocus (2013)
The Hound of Heaven (1988)
Hymn for Emmanuel (2015)
Love Among the Ruins (2016)
Mam-Blu (Flex instrumentation) (2006/2020)
Minton's Playhouse (1994)
O Magnum Mysterium (1996)
The Road Not Taken (Flex instrumentation) (1993/2020)
Scintilla (Flex instrumentation) (2018/2020)
Seasons (2022)
Silent Shadows to the Last (2017)
Sinfonietta (2012)
Storyville (1996)
Suite Argentine (2020)
Suite Louisiane (2018)
Symphony No. 1, “Blue” (1999)
Symphony No. 2 (2019)
Tattoo (2005)
The Temptation of St. Anthony (2014)
Wu Xing (2016)

Resources

James Syker website Accessed 14 February 2017