Sound and Smoke
General Info
Year: 2011
Duration: c. 13:50
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Viet Cuong
Cost: Score and Parts - Rental ($400.00) | Score Only - $50.00 purchase
Movements
1. (feudal castle lights) - 6:15
2. (avalanche of eyes) - 6:50
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute I-II-III
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bell Tree
- Chimes
- China Cymbals
- Crash Cymbals
- Crotales
- Glockenspiel
- Hi-Hat
- Marimba
- Sizzle Cymbal
- Slapstick
- Sleigh Bells
- Snare Drum
- Splash Cymbal
- Suspended Cymbal
- Taiko Drum, large
- Tam-Tam
- Tom-Tom, large
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
- Wind Chimes
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Both the title and concept of Sound and Smoke were derived from a line from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s play Faust, when Faust equates words to “mere sound and smoke” and declares that “feeling is everything.” Each of the two movements has been given an abstract, parenthetical title to further incorporate Goethe’s conjecture that words will never be able to fully express what feelings and, in this case, music can. Therefore, these titles serve merely as starting points for personal interpretation and should not interfere with the music itself.
The first movement, (feudal castle lights), blurs the many different timbres of the ensemble to create a resonant and slowly “smoldering” effect. Because reverb is essentially built into the orchestration, harmonies must shift using common tones and are always built upon the notes preceding them. The second and final movement, (avalanche of eyes), opens with an alternating unison-note brass fanfare that is then spun out into a fast-paced toccata. Suspense and excitement are created as the spotlight moves quickly between the various colors of the ensemble and the fanfare is transformed.
The original concept of “sound and smoke” unifies these two otherwise dissimilar movements; oftentimes ideas are presented and then promptly left behind or transformed. Musical events therefore appear and dissipate as quickly as sound and smoke.
- Program Note by composer
Awards
- Walter Beeler Memorial Prize from Ithaca College, winner, 2012
Media
- Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
- Audio CD: Cobb Wind Symphony (Marietta, Ga.) (Alfred L. Watkins, conductor) - 2011
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- CBDNA 2024 Eastern Division Intercollegiate Band (Ithaca, N.Y.) (Stephen Peterson, conductor) – 24 February 2024 (CBDNA 2024 Eastern Division Conference, Ithaca, N.Y.)
- University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) Wind Ensemble (Gary Hill, conductor) – 29 November 2023
- University of Illinois (Champaign) Wind Orchestra (Barry L. Houser, conductor) - 15 November 2023
- Eastern Michigan University (Ypsilanti) Wind Ensemble (Mary K. Schneider, conductor) - 20 October 2023
- San Jose (Calif.) Wind Symphony (Danielle Gaudry, conductor) - 21 May 2023
- University of Oklahoma (Norman) Wind Symphony (Shanti Simon, conductor) - 16 April 2023
- Honor Band of America (Mallory Thompson, conductor) – 2 April 2023 (2023 Music for All National Festival, Indianapolis)
- Northshore Concert Band (Evanston, Ill.) (Mallory Thompson, conductor) – 19 February 2023
- Florida A&M University (Tallahassee) Wind Symphony (Shelby Chipman, conductor) – 16 February 2023 (CBDNA 2023 National Conference, Athens, Ga.)
- Hebron High School (Carrollton, Tx.) Wind Symphony (Andrew Sealy, conductor) – 10 February 2023 (2023 TMEA Conference, San Antonio)
- Northshore Concert Band (Evanston, Ill.) (Mallory Thompson, conductor) – 1 February 2023
- Oklahoma Intercollegiate Honor Band (Tulsa) (Andrea Brown, conductor) - 19 January 2023
- Baylor University (Waco, Tx.) Wind Ensemble (J. Eric Wilson, conductor - 22 December 2022 (2022 Midwest Clinic)
- Baylor University (Waco) Wind Ensemble (Eric Wilson, conductor) - 17 November 2022
- Ithaca (N.Y.) College Wind Ensemble (Rebekah Daniel, conductor) - 10 October 2022
- University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) Wind Ensemble (Betsy McCann, conductor) -- 7 February 2022
- University of Maryland (College Park) Wind Ensemble (Andrea E. Brown, conductor) -15 October 2021
- Texas Tech University (Lubbock) Symphonic Band (Sarah McKoin, conductor) – 19 February 2020 (CBDNA 2020 Southwestern Division Conference, Norman, Okla.)
- Encore Wind Ensemble (Roseville, Minn.) (Catherine Sinon Bushman, conductor) – 24 November 2019
- Texas Tech University (Lubbock) Symphony Band (Eric Allen, conductor) – 24 November 2019
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- Syzygy (Flex instrumentation) (2019/2020)
All Wind Works
- Autumn Triptych (2023)
- Thu Điếu (2017/2021)
- Bull's-Eye (2019)
- Concerto for Tuba (2019)
- Cymbalisms
- Deciduous (2023)
- Diamond Tide (2015)
- Electric Aroma (2017/2018)
- Extra Fancy
- Full Circle (2019)
- Heart on Fire (2022)
- Howls and Hymns (2017)
- Inland Ocean (2023)
- Lasting Light (2018)
- Moth (2013)
- Moxie (tr. Sedatole) (2018/2021)
- Re(new)al (chamber winds) (2016/2018/2021)
- Re(new)al (wind ensemble) (2016/2018)
- Rule of 3 (2021)
- Second Nature (2022)
- Sound and Smoke (2011)
- Symphony No. 1 (2024)
- Syzygy (2019)
- Syzygy (Flex instrumentation) (2019/2020)
- Thu Điếu. See: Autumn Triptych
- Vital Sines (2022)
Resources
- Trachsel, Andrew. "Sound and Smoke." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 11, Compiled and edited by Richard Miles, 802-817. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2018.