Message on the Rock, The
This work bears the designation Opus 102
General Info
Year: 2004
Duration: c. 4:40
Difficulty: II (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Alfred Music Publishing
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $58.00; (digital) - $58.00 | Score Only (print) - $6.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F
Trombone I-II
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion, including:
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Wind Chimes
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
The inspiration for this piece came from the scenes and speeches on a rock emblazoned with battle scenes from our nation's history. The opening is a military-sounding march that leads to a solemn section over which a narrator reads the famous speeches painted on the rock while a muted trumpet plays Taps. The initial march theme returns, with fragments of numerous patriotic melodies juxtaposed with the original melody that grows to an exhilarating ending.
- Program Note from publisher
The Message on the Rock was commissioned by the East Central Middle School Honor Band for a performance in Brookings, South Dakota. The piece is a musical representation of rather unusual artwork that can be found in a field west of Des Moines, in Adair County, Iowa.
Artist Ray Sorensen of Greenfield, Iowa, discovered a rock that had, for some time, been painted with graffiti. He decided that the rock should be properly painted once and for all and did so with truly remarkable skill. He emblazoned the sides of the rock with battle scenes from our nation's history, including Washington's crossing of the Delaware and a scene from 9-11. Fragments of speeches from American presidents are included and an American flag drapes the rock – now known as Freedom Rock.
- Program Note from score
Media
- Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
- Audio CD: West Ridge Middle School Wind Ensemble (Juliana Riecss, conductor) - 2010]
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Plainville Wind Ensemble (New Britain, Conn.) (Ken Bagley, conductor) – 17 November 2019
- Ontario County West 5th & 6th Grade Band - 2013
- West Ridge Middle School (Austin, Tx.) Wind Ensemble (Juliana Riecss, conductor) – 15 December 2010 (2010 Midwest Clinic)
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- Pevensey Castle (Flex instrumentation) (1993/2012)
- West Highlands Sojourn (Flex instrumentation) (1993/2014)
All Wind Works
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- Lone Eagle (2020)
- A Longford Legend (1999)
- The Lords of Greenwich (2010)
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- Lydian Lullaby (2006)
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- Maqamat (1974/2005/2021)
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- Metrix (2011)
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- Moravian Folk Rhapsody (2004/2008)
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- Noel Francais (2003)
- Northwest Rising (1999)
- Ocean Ridge Rhapsody (1989)
- Ode to Joy (as arranger) (2013)
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- Of Kindred Spirit (1997)
- On Placid Seas (2015)
- Once the Man (2005)
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- Open Road (2013)
- Oracles of the Sirocco (2018)
- Overdrive (2015)
- Overture to a New Horizon (2014)
- Palimpsest (2003)
- Paragon (2005)
- Patriotic Salute (2003)
- Patriotic Snippets (2008)
- Pevensey Castle (1993)
- Pevensey Castle (Flex instrumentation) (1993/2012)
- The Phantom of Dark Hollow (2006)
- Phrygian Phantasy (2003)
- Piedmont Festival Overture (2016)
- The Pilgrimage (2011)
- The Pioneer's Passage (2000)
- The Pioneers (2010)
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- Praeludium and Dance (2008)
- A Prairie Portrait (2006)
- Prairiescape (1996)
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- Red Rock Canyon (1994)
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- Ritmico! (2001)
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- The Siege of Harlech Castle 2012)
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- Southampton March (2017)
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- A Symphonic Narrative (1992)
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- To a Wild Rose (as arranger) (2014)
- Travelin' Music (as arranger) (2016)
- Triumph of the Argonauts (2014)
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- Uptown Strut (2013)
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- West Highlands Sojourn (1993)
- West Highlands Sojourn (Flex instrumentation) (1993/2014)
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Resources
- Perusal score
- Robert Sheldon website Accessed 3 September 2021