Pony Express
General Info
Year: 2009
Duration: c. 3:55
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Alfred Publishing
Cost: Score and Parts - $52.00 | Score Only - $8.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
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 I-II-III, including:
- Bass Drum
- Snare Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Bells
- Mark Tree
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tambourine
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Travel back in time to when the fastest way to deliver a message was on horseback, riding across the plains, mountains and deserts. This piece has a slight "off-beat" gallop for the horseback ride and a lyrical section that is reminiscent of looking out over the vast spaciousness of the plains. But it isn't long before we're back in the saddle and racing to deliver the mail and to a most enjoyable finish !
-Program Note from publisher
This inventive piece by Chris Bernotas captures the sound and feeling of riding a horse through various landscapes. It switches between time signatures, which represents the “off-beat gallop” of a horse. Bernotas writes that, “Pony Express reminds us of a time when the fastest way to deliver a message was on horseback, riding across the plains, mountains and desert.”
The slower ballad of the middle section conveys the “spaciousness of the plains” and stands in stark contrast to the earlier music. Hopefully you’ll envision a time and place without cars and with a much slower pace in life!
- Program Note by Jeff Torchon
Dedicated to the Mountain Lakes High School 2008-2009 Concert Band, Mountain Lakes, NJ.
-Program Note from score
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Temple University (Philadelphia, Penn.) Night Owls Campus Community Band (Jeff Torchon, conductor) – 8 December 2019
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
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- Ride Through the Valley (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
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