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Mountains, Rivers, Dreams
Subtitle: A Concert Overture for Wind Ensemble
General Info
Year: 2015
Duration: c. 10:35
Difficulty: IV+ (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Thomas Couvillon
Cost: Score and Parts - $225.00
For availability and ordering information, see Discussion tab, above.
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
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
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano
Timpani
Percussion I-V, including:
- Bass Drum
- Glockenspiel
- Marimba
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Temple Blocks (4)
- Tom-Tom (4)
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
- Wood Block
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
During my spring 2015 sabbatical leave, I had the opportunity to travel in the West for a series of professional engagements. The highlight of this road trip was a five-week artistic residency at the Banff Centre, a well-know institution dedicated to developing and supporting creativity and innovation located in the Canadian Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Mountains, Rivers, Dreams draws its inspiration from the majestic beauty that I experienced at Banff and throughout my travels.
The title of my piece attempts to encompass both the natural beauty of the landscape and the emotional journey of a voyage (and, on a larger scale, our journey through life). Mountains represent the large-scale majesty of nature as well as the lofty ideals that give life a sense of purpose. These ideas are characterized in the music by widely spaced, open sonorities, sustained harmonies and broad, slower tempos. Rivers represent the intimate beauty of a walk along a stream as well as the excitement of new friendships and personal growth. These ideas appear in the music as flowing chord progressions, instrumental solos and faster tempos. Dreams are our aspirations, successes, and failures in life. A dissonant half-step progression is used throughout the work to embody the struggle to reach our dreams, find meaning, and to grow as a person. The musical ideas embodied by these three main concepts alternate and interact with each other in a series of contrasting sections that build to an energetic climax. The climax leads directly to a peaceful final section that provides a sense of resolution to the conflict and closes the piece with a renewed sense of optimism.
Mountains, Rivers, Dreams was commissioned by and dedicated to the Eastern Kentucky University Symphonic Wind Ensemble.
- Program Note by composer
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Md.) Peabody Wind Ensemble (Harland D. Parker, conductor) – 5 October 2017
- Eastern Kentucky University (Richmond) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (David Clemmer, conductor) - 17 November 2015 *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by This Composer
- In Excelsis (2010)
- Mountains, Rivers, Dreams (2015)
- A Sailing Sextet (2015)
- Scherzo (2005)
Resources
- Perusal score
- Thomas Couvillon website Accessed 8 October 1017