Symphony for Wind Orchestra 'Montage'

From Wind Repertory Project
Peter Graham

Peter Graham


General Info

Year: 1994 / 1999 / 2004
Duration: c. 17:00
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Brass Band
Publisher: Winwood Music
Cost: Parts - £120.00   |   Score Only - Unknown


Movements

I. Arch (In memoriam Witold Lutoslawski) - 4:27
II. Circles - 6:13
III. Arrows - 4:34


Instrumentation

Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
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
Tenor Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbal
  • Glockenspiel
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tam-tam
  • Triangle
  • Tubular Bells
  • Wind Chime
  • Woodblock
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Each of the movements of the symphony take as their starting point forms originating in music of the 16th and 17th centuries.

The first, an intrada, introduces the main thematic material (based on the interval of a minor third) in its embryonic state. As the piece progresses, this material is developed and manipulated in a variety of ways. The interval of the third remains central to the overall scheme of the work, even unifying the three movements on a tonal plane (I: F (minor); II: A flat (major); Ill: C flat (minor). The internal structure of the intrada is an arch form: ABCBA, roughly modelled on the first movement of Concerto for Orchestra by Witold Lutoslawski, to whose memory the movement is dedicated.

A Chaconne follows. The basic material is now transformed into an expansive solo line which is underpinned by a recurring sequence of five chords (again, a third apart). Proportions are organised according to golden section principles using the Lucas summation series. A series of waves leads ultimately to a dynamic climax before the music subsides, resting on a new tonal plane. The Chaconne's continuous cycle of chords may visualised as circles.

The final movement, a rondo, bears the dramatic weight of the entire work, as the underlying tonal tensions surface. An accelerated version of the second movement solo line is used to introduce the clarinet's rondo theme, itself a rhythmically altered statement of the melody with which the whole work began. A musical journey ensues, making diversions through lyrical territories as well as through more spiky, jazz-flavoured ones. The aural (and visual) montage is perhaps most apparent towards the climax of the piece, where three keys and polyrhythms sound simultaneously in in the woodwind, horns and low brass/timpani. The climax itself combines the lyrical music heard earlier with the rondo theme, now presented in canon.

The teleological thrust of the movement (if not the entire work) can be symbolized by the flight of an arrow, as it steers a predetermined course towards its target.

- Program note by composer


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

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Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources