Scenes

Verne Reynolds

General Info

Year: 1971 / 1974
Duration: c. 17:00
Difficulty: VII (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: G. Schirmer
Cost: Score and Parts - Out of print

For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.

Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II-III-IV (III-IV doubling C Piccolo)
Oboe I-II-III-IV (IV doubling English Horn)
Bassoon I-II-III
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV-V
Trombone I-II-III
Tuba
Piano (doubling Celesta)
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:

Bass Drum
Bongos
Chimes
Claves
Crash Cymbals
Glockenspiel
Snare Drum
Tam-Tam
Temple Blocks
Tenor Drum
Triangle
Wood Block
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Scenes is dedicated to Donald Hunsberger and the 20th anniversary of the Eastman Wind Ensemble. It The work can be divided into three sections. The first section has a Maestoso introduction followed by an Allegro which culminates in aleatoric passages for the whole ensemble. The second section is quite slow with long sustains in the muted brasses. The conclusion of this section is an English horn solo. The final section is marked Presto and moves between 9/8 and 3/4 meters. The work utilizes 12 tone rows for its melodic material.

- Program Note from publisher

Scenes is a difficult, complex, highly dissonant, and rhythmically involved serial composition which begins with heavy emphasis on the tone C-sharp. The title refers only to the expressive changes observed during the “travel” through the five sections. Scenes opens with a dramatic and intense Maestoso, having many subdivided intricacies and a combination of contrapuntal and parallel-motion textures. The Allegro includes brilliant 16th-note passages, leading to an unmetered free section where each part plays its on figuration in different tempos against a 12-note ostinato appearing in a different instrumental group five times. This is followed by a slow, chorale-like section in soft cluster-chords leading to a cadenza-like English horn solo. Scenes concludes with a breathtaking virtuoso Presto, demanding enormous technical facility, particularly from the brass.

- Program Notes by Joseph Kreines and Frank B. Wickes

Media

Audio CD: Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra (Frederick Fennell, conductor)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Mallory Thompson, conductor) – 15 November 2019
University of Southern California Thornton Wind Ensemble (H. Robert Reynolds, conductor) - 6 October 2017
University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Symphony (Mallory Thompson, conductor) - 28 November 1995

Works for Winds by This Composer

Concerto for Piano and Wind Ensemble (arr. Hunsberger) (1966/1998)
Last Scenes
Le Cid (as transcriber)
Little Symphony for Winds (as transcriber)
Scenes (1971/1974)
Scenes Revisited (1977)
Theme and Variations (1950)

Resources

Jones, B. D. (2006). A comparative analysis of ‘Scenes’, ‘Scenes Revisited’, and ‘Last Scenes’ by Verne Reynolds. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.
Miles, Richard B. 2000. Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Volume 3. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 731-734.
Reynolds, V. (1974). Scenes [score]. New York: G. Schirmer.