Tower Music

From Wind Repertory Project
Alan Hovhaness

Alan Hovhaness


Subtitle: For Woodwind and Brass Instruments


General Info

Year: 1957
Duration: c. 11:05
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Broude Brothers
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $45.00   |   Score Only (print) - $17.50


Movements

1. Prelude - 1:40
2. Fugue - 1:25
3. Aria - 1:15
4. Antiphony - 1:30
5. Two Hymns - 2:40
6. Postlude - 1:40


Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute
Oboe
B-flat Soprano Clarinet
Bassoon
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II
Trombone
Tuba


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Alan Hovhaness’ Tower Music is not often performed, as it is a hidden gem of the wind repertoire. This work can be identified as a six-movement suite, with each movement containing different Renaissance forms. Hovhaness adds a unique twist to these forms with the use of late 19th and early 20th century harmonies. The woodwind and brass sections of this work are separated into two choirs, occasionally coming together in grand tutti sections after moments of call and response either between the two choirs or a soloist and the remainder of the ensemble.

- Program Note from Eastman Wind Orchestra concert program, 29 March 2021


Media

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • University of Illinois (Champaign) Chamber Winds (Michelle Bell, conductor) – 30 March 2022
  • University of Colorado Boulder Wind Symphony (Donald McKinney, conductor) - 15 April 2021
  • Eastman Wind Orchestra (Rochester, N.Y.) (Mark Davis Scatterday, conductor) - 29 March 2021
  • North Dakota State University (Fargo) Wind Symphony (Andrew Nicholson, conductor) - 22 November 2020
  • University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Chamber Winds (Kevin Michael Holzman, conductor) – 31 October 2019
  • Saginaw Valley State University (Saginaw, Mich.) Wind Ensemble (Norman Wika, conductor) – 29 November 2017
  • Temple University (Philadelphia, Penn.) Chamber Winds (Cory Near, conductor) - 23 October 2015
  • Longy Chamber Winds (Frank Battisti, conductor) - 4 April 2008.
  • Florida State University Summer Camp Honors Chamber Winds (Nikk Pilato, conductor) - 2 July 2008.


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • Hovanhess, A. (1959). Tower Music: For Woodwind and Brass Instruments [score]. Rongwen Music: New York.