Ode to RS
General Info
Year: 2012
Duration: c. 11:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Bravo Music/Brain Music
Cost: Score and Parts - $145.00 | Score Only - $17.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo (doubles Flute 3)
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
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-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion, including:
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Glockenspiel
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tam-Tam
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
- Woodblock (3)
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Ode to R.S., dedicated to Robert Schumann’s 200th birth year, was composed in 2010. Set as a theme and variations, the theme is a chorale in C-major originally composed by 16th-century French composer Louis Bourgeois. Most well-known by the title Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele, Johann Sebastian Bach used this chorale in the cantatas Es erhub sich ein Streit, BWV 19 and Wachet! betet! betet! wachet!., BWV 70. Known as one of the major composers responsible for the revival of Bach’s music in the nineteenth century, Schumann harmonized the chorale in his op. 69, No.4. The variations are organized in the following manner:
Variation 1 (in F-major): Brahms-like variation
Variation 2 (in E-major): Counterpoint variation
Variation 3 (in F-major): Scherzando-like variation
Variation 4 (in a-minor — C-major): Variation in a slow tempo, it gradually moves away from the theme.
Variation 5 (in C-major): Variation in a fast tempo which contrasts the previous variation. The theme is fragmented throughout this variation.
Theme (in F-major): The theme returns as a Figurierter Choral (Figured Choral) by Schumann, in “almost the same" as Schumann’s original. Koh calls this “almost the same” because he injects Schumann’s popular melody Träumerai into the choral. This second theme is also notable because he uses pitches of the first phrase of Träumerai, C-F-E-F-A-C-F-F, as the key centers of each variation.
Fugue (in F-major): A short lively fugue based on a motive taken from Träumerai. In the final three measures of the piece, the pitch set E-flat-C-B-A (in German S(Es)-C-H-A, which came from SCHumAnn) is used in the low brass an woodwinds to pay a final homage to Schumann. This practice of inserting a name or motto into a piece was often used Robert Schumann himself.
-Program note by Seth Wollam for the Lone Star Wind Orchestra
Media
- Audio: Reference recording. Osaka Municipal Symphonic Band (Gyochi Yoshida, conductor)
- Audio CD: Lone Star Wind Orchestra (Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor)
- Audio CD: Osaka Municipal Symphonic Band (Gyochi Yoshida, conductor) – 2012
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Lone Star Wind Orchestra (Dallas, Tx.) (Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor) – 20 December 2012 (2012 Midwest Clinic)
- University of North Texas (Denton) Wind Symphony (Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor) - 15 November 2012
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Afferoce (2014)
- Arirang and Akatonbo (as arranger) (2003)
- As the Sun Rises (2003-2004)
- Carnival Day (1999)
- Cherry Blossom Brilliance (2017)
- Chirche for Wind Orchestra (2019)
- Concerto for Wind Orchestra (2016)
- Dichterliebe (as arranger) (1840/2015)
- Dithyrambos (2006)
- Divertimento Based on Chatsumi (2005/2006)
- Eleutheria (2020)
- Fantajia (2016)
- Humoresque (2010)
- Il Calore di Tre Risaie (2022)
- Korean Dances (2004)
- Lament for Wind Orchestra (2002)
- Mindscape for Wind Orchestra (2015)
- Ode to R.S. (2012)
- Pansori'c Rhapsody (2008)
- Second Movement from "Streichquartett nr. 2" (as arranger) (1915-1917/2006)
- Vanitas for Wind Orchestra (2011)
- Viva! Osakan. See: Vive as an Oak
- Vive as an Oak (2019)
Resources
- Lo, Albert. "Ode to R.S." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 10, Compiled and edited by Richard Miles, 788-793. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2015.