Exhilaration and Cry

From Wind Repertory Project
Donald Grantham

Donald Grantham


Subtitle: First and Third Movements of Southern Harmony


General Info

Year: 2008
Duration: c. 5:00
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Piquant Press
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - Rental ($300.00)   |   Score Only (print) - $40.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III-IV
Euphonium (2 players)
Tuba (2 players)
String Bass
Piano (doubling Celesta)
Timpani
Percussion I–II-III-IV, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbal
  • Glockenspiel
  • Gong (Tam-tam)
  • Snare Drum (2)
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tambourine
  • Triangle
  • Tubular Bells
  • Vibraphone
  • Wind Chimes (metal)
  • Xylophone

Musicians clapping


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

This work combines Exhilaration and The Midnight Cry from Southern Harmony into a single movement. Exhilaration appears first, followed by a percussion break, followed by The Midnight Cry. The two movements are scored exactly as they appear in Southern Harmony.

- Program Note from publisher


In 1835, William "Singin' Billy" Walker's songbook Southern Harmony was first published. This remarkable collection contains, according to its title page, "a choice collection of tunes, hymns, psalms, odes and anthems; selected from the most eminent authors in the United States." In fact, few of the numbers in the book are identified as the work of a particular composer. Many are folk songs (provided with religious texts), others are traditional sacred tunes, while some are revival songs that were widely known and sung throughout the South. The book was immensely popular, selling an amazing 600,000 copies before the Civil War, and was commonly stocked "along with groceries and tobacco" in general stores across the American frontier. From 1884 until World War II, an annual all-day mass performance of selections from Southern Harmony, called the "Benton Big Singing", was held on the Benton, Kentucky, courthouse lawn. The event drew participants from Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois.

The music of Southern Harmony has a somewhat exotic sound to modern audiences. The tunes often use modal or pentatonic rather than major or minor scales. The harmony is even more out of the ordinary, employing chord positions, voice leading and progressions that are far removed from the European music that dominated concert halls at the time. These harmonizations were dismissed as crude and primitive when they first appeared. Now they are regarded as inventive, unique, and powerfully representative of the American character.

In his use of several tunes from Southern Harmony, the composer has attempted to preserve the flavor of the original vocal works in a setting that fully realizes the potential of the wind ensemble and the individual character of each song.

Southern Harmony was commissioned by the Southeastern Conference of Band Directors.

- Program Note by Donald Grantham


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Stony Brook (N.Y.) University Wind Ensemble (Justin R. Stolarik, conductor) - 3 May 2023
  • Austin (Tx.) Symphonic Band (Kyle Glaser, conductor) - 6 November 2022
  • Lone Star Youth Winds (Dallas, Tx.) (Amanda Drinkwater, conductor) – 12 May 2019
  • Minnesota Winds (Edina, Minn.) (Timothy Mahr, conductor) – 19 December 2008 (2008 Midwest Clinic)


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

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