Red Cape Tango
Michael Daugherty (trans. Mark Spede)
General Info
Year: 1993 / 1999
Duration: c. 12:50
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Peermusic Classical
Cost: Score and Parts - Rental | Score Only - $34.95
Instrumentation
Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contra Bassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contra Bass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone I-II (II doubling E-flat Alto Saxophone)
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium I-II
Tuba I-II
Contrabass
Timpani
Piano
Percussion I-V, including:
- Brake Drum
- Castanets (on stand)
- Chimes
- Crash Cymbals (2: 1 large set, 1 medium set)
- Finger Cymbals (2)
- Glockenspiel
- Marimba
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tam-tam (large)
- Tambourine
- Vibraphone
- Xylophone
Errata
- Piccolo, m.41: downbeat of beat 2 should be ‘A#’(chromatic run).
- Flute I, m.37: last 16th under ‘7’ groupings on beats 3 and 4 should be ‘D’s (match m.38) / m.194: beat 3 should have a courtesy "A natural"
- Flute II, m.41: downbeat of beat 2 should be ‘A#’(chromatic run) / m.194: beat 3 should have a courtesy "A natural"
- English Horn, m.77: Should have straight chromatic scale up; culminate on ‘F#’ not ‘G’ / m.339: Should have straight chromatic scale up (missing #’s after beat 2)
- E-flat Soprano Clarinet: m.194: beat 3 should have a courtesy "A natural."
- Clarinet Ia, m.67-72: beat 3 half note should be ‘F#’ / m.74, 76: beat 3 half note should be ‘F#’ / m.189, 194, 199: beat 3 should have a courtesy "A natural" / m.207: second 16th note should be "E-flat."
- Clarinet II, m.189, 194, 199: beat 3 should have a courtesy "A natural" / m.207: second 16th note should be "E-flat."
- Clarinet III, m.189, 194, 199: beat 3 should have a courtesy "A natural" / m.207: second 16th note should be "E-flat."
- Alto Sax I, m.189, 194, 199: beat 3 should have a courtesy "A natural" / m.207: second 16th note should be "E-flat."
- Alto Sax II, m.189, 194, 199: beat 3 should have a courtesy "A natural" / m.207: second 16th note should be "E-flat."
- Trumpet I-II, m.316, 318, and 320: concert "E natural" / m.320: concert "B natural" / m.349 and 351: concert "A" on downbeats.
- Trumpet III-IV, m.316, 318, 320, 322, 324, and 326: concert "E natural" / m.351: concert "A" on downbeats.
- Horn I, m.190: all bottom ‘E’s’ need a flat sign / m.195: all bottom ‘E’s’ need a flat sign / m.200-213: all bottom ‘E’s’ need a flat sign / m.260-275: all bottom ‘E’s’ need a flat sign
- Horn III, m.8: rhythm should be half note, quarter note under triplet bracket / m.135: rhythm should be half note, quarter note under triplet bracket.
- Horns I-IV, m.203-213: open symbol not needed.
- All Trombones, m.303 and 307: Remove slur beats 3 to 4
- Trombone I, m.329: solo should say "gliss." over diagonal line; notes should have no "+" or "o" over beats 2 and 3.
- Tuba, m.303 and 307: Remove slur beats 3 to 4
- Contrabass, m.308-315: change to gliss
- Percussion III, m.214: should be marked "tambourine with knee" / m.269: should be marked “Tambourine”
- Percussion IV, add suspended cymbal to the instrument list
- Percussion V, m.189, 194, 199: beat 3 should have a courtesy "A natural"
- Percussion V, remove vibraphone from the instrument list
- Piano, m.189, 194, 199: beat 3 should have a courtesy "A natural" / m.308-315: pedal marking should continue in two bar sequences.
Program Notes
Red Cape Tango is the fifth movement of Michael Daugherty’s Metropolis Symphony, dedicated to David Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
As the title implies, the work is based around the Superman mythology, each movement taking the character of someone or something related to the Superman comics. Red Cape Tango was composed after Superman was “killed off” in the comic book series, the result of a fight with a fiendish supervillian Doomsday. The principal melody, first heard in the bassoon, is taken from the Latin hymn Dies Irae (literally, “day of wrath”). This hymn has often been paired in music with connotations of death or loss. This hymn of death is transformed into a tango, complete with castanets, finger cymbals, and string bass. The ensemble alternates between the legato and staccato sections to suggest a musical bullfight.
This transcription was crafted by Mark Spede, director of bands at Clemson University.
- Program Note by Nikk Pilato
Red Cape Tango was composed after Superman's fight to the death with Doomsday, and is my final musical work based on the Superman mythology. The principal melody, first heard in the bassoon, is derived from the medieval Latin death chant Dies irae. This dance of death is conceived as a tango, presented at times like a concertino comprising string quintet, brass trio, bassoon, chimes, and castanets. The tango rhythm, introduced by the castanets and heard later in the finger cymbals, undergoes a gradual timbral transformation, concluding dramatically with crash cymbals, brake drum, and timpani. The orchestra alternates between legato and staccato sections to suggest a musical bullfight.
The symphonic band version was commissioned by Jerry Junkin, on behalf of the University of Texas Wind Ensemble, and was premiered by that ensemble, with Jerry Junkin conducting, in February 2000 at the National Conference of the College Band Directors National Association, Austin, Texas.
- Program Note by composer
Media
State Ratings
- Maryland: VI
- New York: VI
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of Oklahoma (Norman) Wind Symphony (Andrew Smith, conductor) - 24 September 2023
- Lamar University (Beaumont, Tex.) Wind Ensemble (Andrew McMahan, conductor) - 26 March 2023
- Cypress Bay High School (Weston, Fla.) Wind Ensemble (Michael D. Scott, conductor) - 17 January 2020
- Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio) Symphonic Winds (Ryan Scherber, conductor) – 11 October 2019
- Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.) Symphonic Band (Shawn Vondran, conductor) – 3 May 2019
- University of Oregon (Eugene) Wind Symphony (Jason Silveira, conductor) – 30 April 2019
- University of Missouri, Kansas City, Wind Symphony (Steven D. Davis, conductor) – 19 February 2019
- Texas All-State Symphonic Band (Steven Davis, conductor) - 16 February 2019 (2019 TMEA Conference, San Antonio)
- University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Orchestra (Terrence Milligan, conductor) – 18 April 2018
- Gettysburg (Penn.) College Wind Symphony (Russell McCutcheon, conductor) – 13 April 2018
- State University of New York, Fredonia, Wind Symphony (Donna Dolson, conductor) – 16 November 2017
- Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Tx.) Meadows Wind Ensemble (Jack Delaney, conductor) – 10 November 2017
- California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Wind Ensemble (Andrew McMahan, conductor) – 3 June 2017
- University of South Alabama (Mobile) Wind Ensemble (William Petersen, conductor) - 21 February 2017
- Atlanta (Ga.) Youth Wind Symphony (Michael Daugherty, conductor) – 17 May 2016
- Cleveland Winds (Cleveland, Ohio) (Birch Browning, conductor) – 24 April 2016
- University of Florida Wind Symphony (David Waybright, conductor) – 21 January 2015
- California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Wind Ensemble (Andrew McMahan, conductor) - 2 June 2012
- Chicago College of Performing Arts Wind Ensemble (Stephen Squires, conductor) - 5 December 2011
- University of Texas (Austin) Wind Ensemble (Jerry Junkin, conductor) – 24 February 1999 (CBDNA 1999 National Conference, Austin, Tx.) *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- Made for You and Me: Inspired by Woody Guthrie (Adaptable Band) (2020)
All Wind Works
- The Adventures of Jesse Owens (2023)
- American Gothic (tr. Daugherty and Galyen) (2013/2019)
- Asclepius (2007)
- Alligator Alley (2003)
- Bells for Stokowski (2002)
- Bizarro (1993)
- Brooklyn Bridge (2005)
- Dead Elvis (1999)
- Desi (1991)
- Dreamachine (2014/2022)
- Firecracker (1989)
- Labyrinth of Love (2012)
- Ladder to the Moon (2005)
- Lift Up Thine Ears (2021/2022)
- Lost Vegas (2011)
- Made for You and Me: Inspired by Woody Guthrie (Adaptable Band) (2020)
- Motown Metal (1994)
- Niagara Falls (1997)
- Of War and Peace (2017)
- On the Air (2012)
- Passacaglia in Primary Colors (2023)
- Raise the Roof (2007)
- Red Cape Tango (tr. Spede) (1993/1999)
- Reflections on the Mississippi for Tuba and Band (2013)
- Rio Grande (2015)
- Rosa Parks Boulevard (2001)
- Songs from a Silent Land (2019)
- Timbuktuba (1995)
- UFO (2000)
- Vulcan (2014)
- Winter Dreams (2015)
Resources
- McCutchan, Ann. (1999). The muse that sings: composers speak about the creative process. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Miles, Richard B., and Larry Blocher. 2002. Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Volume 4. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 870-879.
- Scott, Judson. (2003). "Michael Daugherty" from A Composer's Insight, Volume One." Galesville, MD: Meredith Music.