Wild Blue Yonder, The

James Barnes

Subtitle: A Supersonic Scherzo for the Air Force Band, Op. 125

General Info

Year: 2008
Duration: c. 8:25
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Southern Music Co.
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $195.00 | Score Only (print) - $20.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II-III
Oboe I-II
English Horn (doubling Oboe III)
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contra Alto Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Harp (optional)
Piano
Timpani
Percussion, including:

Anvil
Bass Drum
Castanet
Crash Cymbal
Crotales
Flexatone
Glockenspiel
Marimba
Sandpaper Block
Snare Drum (2, metal shell)
Suspended Cymbal
Tambourine
Tam-tam
Triangle (2)
Tubular Bells
Wood Block
Vibraphone
Xylophone

Cello

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

In 459 head-spinning, heart-racing measures, Wild Blue Yonder takes us for a truly breathtaking ride. In the words of the composer, "When composing Wild Blue Yonder my interest was to write a true scherzo -- a lightning-paced piece describing what a thrill it must be to fly a fighter plane, zooming through the sky and clouds at twice the speed of sound. This must be the ultimate rush."

A whirling dervish of melodic material, the work is a veritable concert band tour de force, combining the fast-paced technical passages of the woodwinds with the soaring power of the brass to create an "edge-of-your-seat" musical thriller. Mr. Barnes paints an image of flight so real that one is challenged to imagine something other than being in the cockpit of a Air Force fighter plane. The piece concludes with a brief quote from our Air Force Song -- a fitting tribute to the men and women who pilot these magnificent machines in defense of our great nation.

- Program Note from liner notes of Air Force Band CD Wild Blue Yonder

This work was composed for the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force.

Media

Audio CD: United States Air Force Band (Dennis M. Layendecker, conductor) - 2012
Audio CD: United States Air Force Band (Dennis M. Layendecker, conductor) - 2006

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

California State University Fresno Wind Orchestra (Gary P. Gilroy, conductor) – 3 October 2019
Indiana University (Bloomington) Concert Band (Jason H. Nam, conductor) – 29 March 2016
American Legion Band of the Tonawandas (New York) – August 2010
United States Air Force Band (Washington, D.C.) (Dennis M. Layendecker, conductor) – 19 December 2006 (2006 Midwest Clinic)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Westridge Overture (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Barber) (1983/1991/2021)
Yorkshire Ballad (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Barber) (1985/2021)

All Wind Works

All Pleasant Things... (1998)
Alpine Holiday (2014)
Alvamar Overture (1981)
Appalachian Overture (1983)
Arioso and Presto (2001)
Autumn Soliloquy (1987)
Bayerisches Osterfest (2014)
Beautiful Oregon (2007)
Breckenridge (1989)
Brookshire Suite (1980)
Burnished Brass (2020)
Caribbean Hideaway (1997)
Carnaval in São Paulo (2003)
Centennial Celebration Overture (1986)
Century Tower (1984)
Chorale and Jubiloso (1998)
Chorale Prelude on a German Folk Tune (1986)
Citadel (2015)
Concerto for Euphonium (2011)
Concerto for Tuba (tr. Rogers) (1996)
Credo (2016)
Crossgate (1984)
Dance Variants (2017)
Danza Sinfonica (2005)
Desperate Pursuit (2010/2012)
Dexter Park Celebration (2017)
Dramatic Overture (2021)
Dream Journey (1997)
Eagle Bend (2000)
Eaglecrest (1984)
Eighth Symphony (2017)
Eisenhower Centennial (1992)
Escenas de los Aztecas (2012)
Fanfare and Capriccio (2001)
Fanfare and Processional (2018)
Fanfares and Alleluias (1996)
Fantasy Variations (1988)
Festival Concert March (1982)
Fifth Symphony (2003)
First Symphony. See: Symphony
Fourth Symphony (ed. Rogers) (1999/2001)
Foxfire (2001)
Golden Festival Overture (1997)
Goldene Kameraden (2014)
Heatherwood Portrait (1983)
High Plains Overture (1991)
Hobart Centennial March (2002)
Home on the Range (as arranger; harm. Ralston) (1873/1992)
Hope Arises
Hunter Park (1974)
Impressions of Japan (1994)
Inspiration Point (1997)
Inventions on Marching Songs (1996)
Invocation and Toccata (1982)
Jubilation Overture (2005)
Legend (1992)
A Leroy Anderson Portrait (as arranger) (1982)
A Light in the Wilderness (1995)
The Lightning Brigade (2018)
Lonely Beach (1993)
The Long Gray Line (1988)
Lyric Interlude (1980)
Majestic (2023)
Malagueña (as arranger) (1928/2016)
Maracas from Caracas (2002)
Meditation (2017)
My Old Kentucky Home (as arranger) (1853/1997)
Ninth Symphony (2019)
Nulli Secundus (1999)
The Old Guard (1994)
Pagan Dances (1996)
The Perishing Rifles (1997)
Poetic Intermezzo (1985)
Porgy and Bess (as arranger) (1928/2002)
Prairie Winds Festival (2016)
A Prayer for Higashi Nihon (2011)
Quest (2016)
Rapscallion (1976)
Rhapsodic Essay (1999)
Ritmico (2018)
Riverfest (1985)
Romanza (1989)
Scarlet and Silver Jubilee (2007/2009)
Second Symphony (2000)
Seventh Symphony. See: Symphonic Requiem
The Silver Gazebo (1996)
Sixth Symphony (2006)
A Solemn Prelude (2003)
Sorcery Suite (2002)
Spitfire Overture (1991)
Sterling Brass (1981/1998)
Stone Meadows (1987)
Sunflower Saga (1994)
Symphonic Essay (2012)
Symphonic Overture (1991)
Symphonic Requiem (2015)
Symphony (1974-75)
Symphony No. 1. See: Symphony
Symphony No. 2. See: Second Symphony
Symphony No. 3. See: Third Symphony
Symphony No. 4. See: Fourth Symphony
Symphony No. 5. See: Fifth Symphony
Symphony No. 6. See: Sixth Symphony
Symphony No. 7. See: Symphonic Requiem
Symphony No. 8. See: Eighth Symphony
Symphony No. 9. See: Ninth Symphony
Tchaikovsky Suite (as arranger) (1878/2004)
The Texans (1986)
Third Symphony (1997)
Threnody (2015)
Three Symphonic Fanfares (1989)
- Fanfare for West Point
Toccata Fantastica (2001)
Torch Dance (1985)
Trail of Tears (1989)
Trailridge Saga (1988)
Tribute (2011)
Twin Oaks (2000)
Variants on a Moravian Hymn (1993)
A Very American Overture (1996)
Visions Macabres (1978/1984/2006)
We the People (1990)
Westport Overture (1988)
Westridge Overture (1983/1991)
Westridge Overture (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Barber) (1983/1991/2021)
The Whistler and His Dog (as arranger) (1905/2005)
The Wild Blue Yonder (2008)
Wildwood Overture (2003)
The Wizard of Oz (as arranger) (1939/1995)
Yama Midori (2003)
Yorkshire Ballad (1985)
Yorkshire Ballad (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Barber) (1985/2021)

Resources

Barnes, J. (2008). Wild Blue Yonder : A Supersonic Scherzo for the Air Force Band, Op. 125 [score]. Southern Music: San Antonio, Texas.