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Ithaca

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Robert W. Smith

Robert W Smith


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This work is the four movement of the composer's Symphony No. 2, The Odyssey.


General Info

Year: c. 2004
Duration: c. 5:53
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Alfred Publishing
Cost: Score and Parts - $100.00   |   Score Only - $9.00


Instrumentation

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

The final movement of Symphony No. 2 sharply contrasts The Isle of Calypso in various ways, bringing about a conclusion to the work. The piece opens with a tense, suspenseful piano/chimes/triangle trio, interrupted at certain points by the return of the English horn from the third movement. After a few seconds, the tense mood subsides as the ocean drums enter and a horn duo repeat the motif that opened the symphony itself. However, this familiarity subsides almost as quickly as the tenseness of the opening, giving way to a dramatic brass melody. The horns continue this melody, accentuated by blasts from the rest of the band, and then all parts crescendo into the upbeat, adventurous first section. This section is made even more epic by the fact that various parts pass the melodies between them, from the horns and saxophones to the oboes to the euphoniums. The entire section is constantly punctuated by "biting" brass lines and unique flute/piccolo melodies which soar over the rest of the melodies and draw them back into the original dramatic theme. Finished off by a triumphant, very short fanfare, the sections decrescendo much like they did in movements 1 and 2 as the piece enters its second section.

Smith uses a spring drum, wind wands, and wind whistles to simulate the sound of a bow being strung and arrows being fired, all topped off by repetitions of Odysseus's theme (the horn duet). As the wind whistles and wind wands continue playing, bodhráns and brake drums simulate the sounds of battle, which lead into the third section.

The third section begins with a repeat of the "Aggressive" theme, once again modified, from the first movement. Although the brass play a melody reminiscent of the first part of the song, a series of chromatic triplets lead the band back into the "Victorious" theme from the first movement. As the chimes mimic the sound of "all the bells of Ithaca", the roaring fanfare that originally opened the symphony returns to close it, with a modified ending in which the whole band brings the song to a roaring conclusion.

- Program Note from Wikipedia


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

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Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


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Resources

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