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Metamorphic Dances
Contents
General Info
Year: 2019
Duration: c. 8:05
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: JFH Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $120.00; (digital) - $120.00 | Score Only (print) - $16.00
Movements
1. Polka 1:10
2. Waltz – 2:00
3. Tango – 2:15
4. Cakewalk – 2:25
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contra Alto 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
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bells
- Castanets
- Claves
- Crash Cymbals
- Marimba
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tambourine
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
As the title implies, Metamorphic Dances is based on traditional dances that have gone through some type of transformation. In essence, each movement brings a classic type of dance music roaring into the 21st century. The first movement is based on the polka. When the American School Band Directors Association commissioned this piece to honor the service of Dennis Hanna, I was told that he loved polka and played in a polka band. Accordingly, this became a fitting way to begin the piece. Starting in the classic polka style, the movement begins to incorporate elements of a circus march while moving through some irregular meter change. It is a lively way to begin the piece, though it is also a great movement to play individually as a concert closer.
The second movement is based on a waltz and relies heavily on a shifting pulse between triple and duple meter. I toyed with the idea of calling this movement Waltz-ish) at one point before settling on the idea of naming each movement after the exact dance that is represented. The music is very playful while touching on more sustained, arching phrases along with cascading inner lines.
Ironically, the third movement was the second one I wrote and was originally intended to be the opener. I actually began it with the idea that it would be the polka (the off beats are a clear signal). However, the music pulled me in a very different direction, and as soon as I wrote the bass line in measure 8, it became extraordinarily clear that this was a tango, not a polka! This is the most passionate of the four movements.
The final movement was the first to be completed and was premiered a year prior to the completion of the entire piece. It is a whimsical, yet extremely energetic, take on the classic cakewalk. The majority of the movement should feel light with a great deal of forward motion. Toward the end, the music develops into thick layers of sound before coming to a thrilling ending.
Metamorphic Dances was commissioned by the American School Bandmasters Association to honor the service of Dennis Hanna. My sincere thanks to ASBDA, a wonderful organization who has also come to represent many good friends of mine.
- Program Note by composer
Commercial Discography
None discovered thus far.
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Cedar Park (Tx.) Middle School Symphonic Band (Britni Dunn, conductor) - 19 December 2019 (2019 Midwest Clinic)
- Texas Tech University (Lubbock) Concert Band (Eric Allen, conductor) – 23 September 2019
Works for Winds by this Composer
Adaptable Music
- Arabian Dances (Adaptable Band) (2009/2021)
- 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)
- Arabian Dances (Adaptable Band) (2009/2021)
- 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 (as arranger) (1814/2002)
- 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
- Perusal score