Famishius Fantasticus

From Wind Repertory Project
Michael Markowski

Michael Markowski


General Info

Year: 2012
Duration: c. 3:55
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Markowski Creative
Cost: Score and Parts - $145.00   |   Score Only - $30.00


Instrumentation

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

  • Bass Drum
  • Brake Drum
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Flexatone
  • Glockenspiel
  • Mahler Hammer
  • Snare Drum
  • Tam-Tam
  • Triangle
  • Vibraphone
  • Wood Block
  • Xylophone

Percussionists 4 and 5 are asked to find various items to dump on the stage floor that "bounce, rattle, or crash."


Errata

The most accurate version of the score and parts is dated December 24, 2012. Please correct the following errata:

  • B-flat Contrabass Clarinet, m. 93-94: Please raise this passage up an octave (unless you have a fancy instrument with a low ‘C’ extension!)
  • Percussion V: m. 48 and 135: Should be marked as ‘Bass Drum.’


Program Notes

2012 marked the 100th birthday of the late and great Looney Tunes director Chuck Jones. His work -- and the work of his colleagues, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, to name a few -- has helped shape my personality for as far back as I can remember. When I was first asked to write a piece that "captured the energy of the students," I couldn't help but think that Wile E. Coyote was the man (or animal) for the job. The title, Famishius Fantasticus, is a direct allusion to the faux binomial (the scientific Latin name) of Wile E. Coyote, as shown in the opening freeze-frame of the 1956 Looney Tunes cartoon, There They Go-Go-Go! If this was actually Latin (and again, it is totally made up), one would probably pronounce it fah-ME-see-oos fahn-tahs-TEE-coos, which might roughly translate into something like, "Fantastically Famished" or "Fantastically Hungry."

Many composers of the Looney Tunes era have defined the cartoon music genre, perhaps most notably Carl Stalling (with the help of Raymond Scott's extensive Warner Brothers catalogue) and MGM's Scott Bradley. Famishius Fantasticus is not an attempt to rewrite these masters, but rather to take the techniques that make these scores so exciting -- colorful and period orchestration, extended performance techniques, exotic percussion and sound effects, constantly shifting musical textures -- and draw my own composition for the wind band medium. Of course, without the animated accompaniment, the visual gags are best left to our imaginations.

Above all else, Famishius Fantasticus is intended to be a wild concert-closer, a "That's not all, folks!" encore, an existential cat-and-mouse (or coyote-and-roadrunner) chase, and is dedicated to all my friends and colleagues who vehemently go after their dreams, who never give up, and who continue to try new things no matter how many crazy ideas might blow up in their faces.

- Program Note by composer


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Duke University (Durham, N.C.) Wind Symphony (Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant, conductor) - 16 November 2023
  • Manhattan Wind Ensemble (New York, N.Y.) (Sarah Fernandez, conductore) - 11 December 2021
  • Oklahoma City (Okla.) University Wind Philharmonic (Matthew Mailman, conductor) – 7 November 2019
  • Ohlone Wind Ensemble (Fremont, Calif.) (Tony Clements, conductor) – 20 October 2019
  • Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta) (Concert Band) (Benjamin J. Diden, conductor) – 14 April 2019
  • Tarleton State University (Stephenville, Tx.) Wind Ensemble (David Robinson, conductor) – 2 October 2018
  • Homestead High School (Cupertino, Calif.) Wind Ensemble II (Eric Weingartner, conductor) - 13 April 2018 (2018 San Joaquin Valley (Calif.) Concert Band Invitational)
  • Ferndale (Mich.) Community Concert Band (Ed Quick, conductor) – 25 February 2018
  • California All-State High School Concert Band (Lawrence Stoffel, conductor) - 18 February 2018 (2018 CASMEC Conference, San Jose)
  • Blackburn High School (Victoria, Aus.) Symphonic Band (Jemima Bunn, conductor) - 20 December 2017 (2017 Midwest Clinic)
  • Westchester Symphonic Winds (Tarrytown, NY) (Rich Guillen, conductor) - 24 Nov 2017
  • World Adult Wind Orchestra Project (Schladming, Aus.) (Douglas Henderson, conductor) – 12 July 2017
  • Cerritos (Calif.) College Concert Band (David Betancourt, conductor) - 12 March 2016 (2016 Sutherland Wind Festival (Fresno, Calif.)
  • Brooklyn Wind Symphony and Grand Street Community Band (Jeff Ball, conductor) – 1 November 2015
  • California State University, Northridge, Wind Ensemble (Lawrence Stoffel, conductor) – 8 October 2015
  • Arlington High School (N.Y.) Wind Ensemble (Rich Guillen, conductor) - 28 Nov & 18 Dec 2014
  • Arkansas State University Wind Symphony (Timothy Oliver, conductor) – 2014


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources