Radix Tyrannis
Subtitle: Concerto for Trombone and Wind Ensemble
General Info
Year: 2017
Duration: c. 15:40
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Peter Van Zandt Lane
Cost: Score and Parts – Available after January 2018
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
C Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II
Tuba
Piano
Percussion I-II, including
- Brake Drum (large and medium)
- Concert Toms
- Crash Cymbal (suspended)
- Kick Drum
- Tam-Tam (medium)
- Timbales
- Tom-Tom
- Triangle (large and medium)
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Radix Tyrannis is a concerto for trombone and wind ensemble in one movement. The title, meaning "the root of tyrants" refers to an often cited excerpt from Plato's Republic: "The people have always some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness.... This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector."
I composed the work thinking of ways the soloist might be cast in the archetype of a tyrant, how the ensemble (the people) would lift him into his position, and how the power of the soloist/tyrant might be used and abused in a purely musical setting. The piece culminates in my attempt at composing-out a coup d'état between the soloist and wind ensemble, ultimately leaving the tyrant (soloist) stripped of his power (virtuosity) and in a position of vulnerability.
Radix Tyrannis was commissioned by American Chamber Winds and trombonist Joseph Alessi at the request conductor David Waybright, whom I must thank profusely for supporting my music. This piece was also made possible by a faculty research grant from the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts at the University of Georgia.
- Program Note by composer
Media
Audio: Reference recording. American Chamber Winds (David Waybright, conductor)
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- American Chamber Winds (United States) (David Waybright, conductor; Joseph Alessi, trombone) – 18 July 2017 - WASBE Conference (Utrecht, Netherlands) *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Ascendant Cycles (2023)
- Astrarium 2015
- Beacons 2017
- Chansonnier (as transcriber) (2018)
- Echo Chambers (2019)
- Hivemind 2014
- /ping/ (2016)
- Radix Tyrannis (2017)
- Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (2023)
- Slant Apparatus (2010)
- Violin Concerto in D Major (as transcriber) (1878/2020)
Resources
- Perusal score
- Peter Van Zandt Lane website - Accessed 27 November 2023