Pavanne (Gould)

From Wind Repertory Project
Morton Gould

Morton Gould (arr. Paul Yoder)


General Info

Year: 1938 / 1942 / 1961
Duration: c. 3:20
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Mills
Cost: Score and Parts - Out of print.

For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.


Instrumentation

Condensed Score
D-flat Piccolo
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet Solo-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Bass Saxophone
B-flat Cornet Solo-II-III
E-flat Horn or Alto I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion (3 players), including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Snare Drum
  • Triangle


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

The Pavanne is one of Morton Gould's most often performed and recorded works, but is actually the second movement of his American Symphonette No. 2, a symphonic suite written with a jazz tinge and intended for radio performance. The Pavanne is written as a short allegretto, lasting roughly four minutes. It opens with a jazzy trumpet tune superimposed over a subtle, walking bass-like ostinato. Different instruments join in, and the work builds to replicate the sounds of a 1940s big band. The structure is loosely ABACDCABA, with the C section introducing a melancholy flute fragment that could be an homage to Gabriel Fauré’s even more famous Pavane.

Fragments of Gould’s Pavanne were later worked into such jazz pieces as John Coltrane's "Impressions," Dizzy Gillespie's "Bebop" and "April B," and David Baker's "Wes Montgomery in Memoriam."


Gould recorded an orchestral version of this composition about three years after the release of Bill Finnigan’s more widely known dance band arrangement was featured on the flip-side of Glenn Miller’s Little Brown Jug. Gould transcribed the piece for band in 1961. Relatively unknown by today’s young audiences, it is a delightful little swing number for band.

- Program Note by David Holsinger


Awards


Media

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Jefferson College (Hillsboro, Mo.) Wind Ensemble (Elke Overton, conductor) - 5 December 2023
  • Foothill Symphonic Band (Palo Alto, Calif.) (David Bruce Adams, conductor) - 4 June 2023
  • Strongville (Ohio) Community Band (Ken Mahelko, conductor) - 12 August 2022
  • Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Vancouver, B.C., Can.) (David Branter, conductor) - 14 April 2022
  • Indiana State University (Terre Haute) Wind Orchestra/Wind Ensemble (Nikk Pilato, conductor) - 18 November 2021
  • California State University Bakersfield Concert Band (Leo Sakamoto, conductor) – 6 October 2019
  • Middlesex Concert Band (Wakefield, Mass.) (Joseph Nuccio, conductor) – 8 June 2019
  • Virginia Grand Military Band (Alexandria) (Loras John Schissel, conductor) – 26 January 2019
  • Lee University (Cleveland, Tenn.) Wind Ensemble (Winona Gray Holsinger, conductor) – 9 October 2018
  • State University of New York, Potsdam, Concert Band (Michael Schaff, conductor) – 8 November 2017
  • Northwest Missouri State University (Maryville) Wind Symphony (Katy Strickland, conductor) – 26 January 2017 (MMEA 79th Annual In-Service Workshop/Conference)
  • Bixby High School Wind Ensemble (Jeremy W. Parker, conductor) - 11 May 2015
  • Chelmsford (Mass.) Community Band (Lucinda Ellert, conductor) - 2 November 2014


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • Girsberger, Russ. Percussion Assignments for Band & Wind Ensemble. Volume I: A-K. Galesburg, MD: Meredith Music Publications, 2004, 119. Print.
  • Gould, M.; Yoder, P. (1939). Pavanne : Second Movement of American Symphonette no. 2 [core]. Mills: New York.