Joy of Life

Brian Balmages

Brian Balmages

Subtitle: Joie de Vivre

General Info

Year: 2015
Duration: c. 6:45
Difficulty: IV 1/2 (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: FJH Music Co.
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $90.00   |   Score Only (print) - $16.00

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
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-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:

• Bass Drum
• Bells
• Cabasa
• Chimes
• China Cymbals
• Crash Cymbals
• Hi-Hat
• Marimba
• Snare Drum
• Splash Cymbal
• Suspended Cymbal
• Tambourine
• Tom-Tom
• Triangle
• Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Commissioned by the concert band of Lafayette, Louisiana, Gerald Guilbeaux, conductor, this work is inspired by the vibrant joie de vivre (joy of life) of the Cajun culture. Rich and colorful traditions of Cajun music drive this composition forward with exciting melodies, rhythmic countermelodies, and elements of blues and jazz sparkling through like shimmering sunlight on heavy Spanish moss.

The contrasting somber but lyrical middle section, Adagio, molto espressivo, is based on the Navy hymn, Eternal Father, Strong to Save, and features solos for euphonium, bassoon, horn, and oboe. At the coda the tempo returns to the original and feature a fugal section that builds to a heroic final chorale. As the music draws to a conclusion, three powerful chords form a satisfying and powerful "Amen" to close the work.

- Program Note from score

Commercial Discography

None discovered thus far.

Media

• Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

• Alabama: Class A

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

• University of Illinois (Champaign) Hindsley Symphonic Band (Stephen G. Peterson, conductor) – 3 December 2016
• Montgomery County Concert Band (Hatfield, Penn.) (Deborah Confredo, conductor) – 2016

Works for Winds by this Composer

Adaptable Music

• Arith-Metric No. 1 (Adaptable Band) (2020)
• Blue Ridge Reel (Adaptable Band) (2013/2020)
• Colliding Visions (Adaptable Band) (2010/2020)
• A Little Matrix Music (Adaptable Band) (2020)
• Moscow, 1941 (Adaptable Band) (2006/2020)

All Wind Works

• African Journey (2001)
• Always United, Forever Strong (2013)
• American Big Top (2018)
• Among the Clouds (2004)
• Apollo (2008)
• Arabian Dances (2009)
• Arith-Metric No. 1 (Adaptable Band) (2020)
• The Awakening (2003)
• Backstage Pass (2015)
• Beyond the Summit (2004)
• Blue Ridge Reel (2013)
• Blue Ridge Reel (Adaptable Band) (2013/2020)
• Breaking Point (2019)
• Bright Morning Stars
• Bringer of War (2017)
• Call of the Wild (2013)
• Camptown Variations (2001)
• Chant and Savage Dance (2005)
• Chesapeake Serenade (2002)
• Colliding Visions (Adaptable Band) (2010/2020)
• Comet Ride (2006)
• Conquest (2003)
• Courtly Dance and Procession (2004)
• Dragonfly (2001)
• Eagles Among Us (2017)
• Elements (2010)
• Enchantment (2014)
• Endless Rainbows (2013)
• Escapades (2005)
• Escape from the Deep (2010)
• Etowah (2008)
• Evocatio (2014)
• Falcon Fanfare (2012)
• Fanfare Canzonique (2003)
• Fanfare on a Theme of Imagination (2015)
• A Festive Fanfare (2017)
• A Festive Finale (2019)
• Fiesta de los Toros (2017)
• Flight (2005)
• Flight of the Griffin (2003)
• Forever... (2014)
• Fusion (2007)
• Gettysburg
• Grace (2016)
• Groove Music (2013)
• Haunted Clocks (2014)
• A Hero's Destiny (1999)
• Homage to Bharat (2018)
• A House Divided (2013)
• Hypnotic Fireflies (2013)
• Images of Ireland (2004)
• In Nature's Glory (2002)
• Incantation and Ritual (2004)
• Industrial Loops (2017)
• Infinite Hope (2018)
• Instant Christmas Spirit
• Into the Arctic (2015)
• Invictus (2000)
• Jingle Bell Tones
• Journey By Night (1998)
• Journey for a Soldier (2010)
• Joy in All Things (2012)
• Joy of Life (2015)
• Jungle Dance (2011)
• Kilauea
• Kindred Spirits (2009)
• Legacy
• Legend (2001)
• Legend of the Drop Bear (2016)
• A Light at the End of Forever (2016)
• A Little Matrix Music (Adaptable Band) (2020)
• Loudoun Praises
• Love and Light (2020)
• Lullaby to the Moon (2017)
• Majestica (2006)
• Marche Diabolique (2014)
• Metal (2013)
• Metamorphic Dances (2019)
• Midnight on Main Street (2009)
• Midnight Suite
  • Midnight Mission (2006)
  • Midnight Sky (2006)
  • Midnight Madness (2007)
• Miramar Fanfare (2003)
• Moscow, 1941 (2006)
• Moscow, 1941 (Adaptable Band) (2006/2020)
• Motion (2006)
• Nevermore (2011)
• Not Afraid to Dream (2006)
• O Mio Babbino Caro (2000)
• Of Emperors and Chariots (2000)
• Olympia
• Open Space (2014)
• Parade of the Jesters (2002)
• Pele (2004)
• Phasing Thunder (2014)
• Pikes Peak (2019)
• Primal Dances (2018)
• Proclamation (2000)
• Proudly We Hail
• Raging Machines (2008)
• Rain (2008)
• Renaissance Reimagined (2017)
• Reverberations (2009)
• Rhythms and Riffs‎ (2008)
• Rippling Watercolors (2015)
• Rite of Passage (2000)
• Rocky Mountain Romp (2007)
• Sapier's Story
• Shadow Waltzes (2016)
• Shadows Unleashed (2013)
• Shenandoah Triptych (2002)
• Shrine of the Fallen (2016)
• Silence Overwhelmed (2010)
• Smithsonian Suite (2003)
• A Solitary Wish (2017/2018)
• Sound Prisms (2002)
• Sparks (2007)
• Spirit of the Stallion (2016)
• Spontaneous Beings (2017)
• Star Above, Shine Brightly (2001)
• The Star-Spangled Banner (as arranger) (1814/2014)
• Starscapes (2007)
• Summer Dances (2000)
• Summer Resounding! (2008)
• Summit City (2006)
• Sun Cycles (2012)
• Swirling Prisms
• Symphonic Episodes (2004)
• Symphony No. 1 for Brass (1998)
• Synthesis (2016)
• Temple of the Murals (2011)
• That Which Binds Us (2015)
• Three Celtic Dances (2008)
• Thrill Ride (2019)
• Through Courageous Eyes (2003)
• Trust in Angels (2017)
• Twittering Machine (2017)
• A View of the World (2001)
• Waves (2007)
• When Spirits Soar (2006)
• Whispering Winds (2003)
• Winged Victory (2007)
• Winter Dances (2001)
• Within the Castle Walls (2012)

Resources

• Brian Balmages website Accessed 15 September 2020
• "New Music Reviews." The Instrumentalist 71.2 (2016): 34. Print.
• Perusal score