With Soul Serene

James M. David

General Info

Year: 2019
Duration: c. 6:10
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Wingert Jones Publications
Cost: Score and Parts (print) – $70.00 | Score Only (print) – $10.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
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
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba I-II
String Bass
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:

Bass Drum
Bell Tree
Bells
Chimes
China Cymbal
Crash Cymbals
Crotales
Field Drum
Snare Drum
Suspended Cymbal
Tam-tam (small)
Triangle (3: small, medium, and large)
Vibraphone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

With Soul Serene is my third work written specifically for younger musicians and was inspired by a poem composed by an American Civil War soldier in 1864. John Worrell Northrop fought for the Union and was captured and sent to Andersonville Prison, about one hundred miles from my hometown. Andersonville was a notoriously cruel and miserable place, but Northrop’s poem reflects a man who remained optimistic in the face of adversity:

I’ve struggled hard for victory,
In pride, although in pain,
With soul serene and spirit free,
And so I must again.

My piece attempts to capture the indomitable spirit of Northrop’s words, while reflecting on the harsh and conflicted past of the Southern United States. Howard Hanson’s Chorale and Alleluia served as a guide for the form of this piece, and the “alleluia” motive is quoted liberally in the second half of my work. Ultimately, I hope my composition leaves listeners with a sense of optimism for the future, despite the many tensions that pester our present day.

- Program Note by composer

Commissioned by a consortium of Georgia high school bands and premiered at the Georgia Music Educators Association All-State Band, Dr. Rebecca Phillips, conductor.

- Program Note from score

Awards

National Bandmasters Association/Merrill Jones Memorial Composition Contest, 2018, winner

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
Audio CD: LaVilla School of the Performing Arts (Jacksonville, Fla.) Band (Ann Adams, conductor)

State Ratings

Iowa: IV
Texas: IV

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

The Ohio State University (Columbus) Symphonic Band (Josh Reynolds, conductor) = 11 October 2022
Lebanon Valley College (Annville, Penn.) Symphonic Band (Christopher J Heffner, conductor) - 13 May 2021
LaVilla School of the Performing Arts (Jacksonville, Fla.) Band (Ann Adams, conductor) – 20 February 2020 (CBDNA 2020 Southern Division Conference, Natchitoches, La.)
VanderCook College of Music (Chicago, Ill.) Symphonic Band (Gary Green, conductor) - 20 December 2019 (2019 Midwest Clinic)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Lookfar (Adaptable Band) (2020)
March Tumbao (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
Menlo Park, 1879 (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
Zephyrus (Flex instrumentation) (2019)

All Wind Works

All Dark Is Now No More (2014)
Auto '66 (2011)
Big Four on the River (2014)
Bright Window (2005)
Codex Gigas. See: Symphony No. 1
Dymaxion (2021)
Flying Jewels (2021)
From the Shaken Tower: Symphony for Percussion and Winds (2014)
Ghosts of the Old Year (2016)
Heartland Verses (2019)
I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold (2017)
Lookfar (Adaptable Band) (2020)
March Tumbao (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
Menlo Park, 1879 (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
Message from Arecibo (2023)
Octarine Spark (2009)
Pavillons en L'Air (2009)
Sinfonietta No 1 (2004)
Sinfonietta No 3: "Strange and Mysterious Waters" (2010)
Swing Landscape (2018)
Symphony No. 1 (2020)
Tesseract (2023)
Troublesome Fire (2022)
Two-Lane Blacktop (2013)
Urban Light (2021)
With Soul Serene (2019)
Zephyrus (Flex instrumentation) (2019)

Resources

David, J. (2019). With Soul Serene [score]. Wingert-Jones Publications: Exton, Penn.
James M. David website Accessed 25 March 2021
Perusal score