NVYO November 11, 2019 & December 2 Concert Program

Program Notes

Edvard Grieg: March of the Dwarfs (Lyric Suite, Op.54, No.4) -

Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg used the folk music of his own country as inspiration for many of his compositions. March of the Dwarfs is an orchestral arrangement of one of the 66 pieces from his Lyric Suite for piano and "ranges from a whisper all the way up to a thunderous marching chorus of multitudes of marching dwarves, contrasted by a peaceful, idyllic and folksong-like middle section. This well-known and descriptive composition was written after the composer's trip to the Jotunheimen mountains in Norway, and is meant to portray mystical troll-like nocturnal creatures swarming about "with much boisterous activity."

Douglas E. Wagner: To Reap the Blessings of Freedom; Hymns of the United States Armed Forces

This reverent medley presents the hymns of the major branches of the United States Armed Forces. In order of appearance it includes Eternal Father, Strong to Save/Eternal Father, Lord of Hosts (Navy/Coast Guard), Lord, Guard and Guide the Men Who Fly (Air Force), From the Halls of Montezuma (Marines), and God of Our Fathers (Army) Douglas E. Wagner, a native of Chicago, Illinois, is an internationally recognized composer and arranger, with 30 years of experience as a high school music educator and administrator.

Alan Menken: Music from Aladdin - Imagine yourself on a magical journey astride your magic carpet with this medley of tunes from one of Disney's most popular animated films. This arrangement features each section of the orchestra in a medley of favorites: "Arabian Nights", "Friend Like Me", "Prince Ali", and "A Whole New World". One of America's most beloved Broadway composers, Alan Menken has won 8 Academy Awards, 11 Grammy Awards, a Tony Award and many other honors.

Johann Hanssen : Valdres March Hanssen, a Norwegian bandmaster, composer, and teacher, was bandmaster of the Oslo Military Band for 9 years. His most famous composition is his Valdresmarsjen (1904), a march celebrating the beautiful Valdres region in Norway that lies between Oslo and Bergen. The main theme is the signature fanfare for the Valdres Battalion, which is based on an ancient melody formerly played on the medieval lur, an uncoiled wooden wind instrument. The melody of the trio section derives from a fiddle tune traditional in Hardanger and a pentatonic folk tune, above a typical Norwegian drone bass line. Hanssen was a horn player in the Norwegian band that first performed it in 1904 at an outdoor concert, with the composer playing the baritone horn himself. Apparently at that first performance, only two members of the audience applauded, and they were his best friends. Later this distinctive classic march, long a favorite of band directors, achieved international fame, and has been recorded by several of the United States Armed Forces Bands.

William Grant Still : Afro-American Symphony, Longing. The Afro-American Symphony of William Grant Still was the first work by a person of color to be premiered by an American symphony when the Rochester Philharmonic performed it in 1931. As a young man, Still (the “Dean of African-American composers”) mastered many instruments. He then went on to study at the Oberlin Conservatory. Still paused his musical studies at Oberlin during World War I to join the Navy. At that time the only job available to African-Americans in the Navy was mess attendant. Despite this, he and many other African-Americans chose to fight for liberty overseas, although they did not have full freedom at home. During his tour of duty, he was relieved of some of his mess responsibilities to perform for officers' meals after it was discovered that he could play the violin. Post-war, in a musical culture that was deeply racist, Still found work as a performer and arranger for W.C. Handy and Paul Whiteman, and even played oboe in the pit orchestra for Eubie Blake’s Broadway hit Shuffle Along. Still masterfully blended the classical and the popular throughout his works; in the Afro-American Symphony in particular he sought to represent the emotional lives of the people of his childhood in Mississippi and Arkansas through the language of the blues, syncopated rhythms, and spirituals. To that effect, the four traditional movements are entitled Longing, Sorrow, Humor, and Aspiration. "Longing" (performed this evening) opens evocatively with a plaintive English horn solo, and then introduces its primary blues theme in the muted trumpet, a theme that echoes Handy’s St. Louis Blues. Winds and brass engage in call and response, and the blues theme is contrasted with a secondary theme in G major introduced by the oboe. The development brings in the sound and vitality of the dance hall, and the contrasting themes are revisited in the recapitulation (return of the original theme).

John Philip Sousa : Stars and Stripes Forever The rise of American popular music following the Civil War found its way to the masses through evolving orchestral music, ragtime, and the wonderfully exciting music written for and performed by the concert band. Sousa capitalized on this and, after composing 136 marches, was deemed the “March King.” Like Haydn and his symphonies, with Sousa's marches the audience came to expect a certain form and were never disappointed. The unmistakable four measure introduction of his Stars and Stripes was an expected sound wherever Sousa toured. The first and second strains (musical themes) present clearly defined melodies in the upper winds and strings, with the rhythmic “oompah” running in the lower winds and strings. The contrasting Trio section is much softer with the lower winds taking over the melody. The raucous “dog fight” section immediately follows, making way for another variation of the trio, featuring the flute’s smaller counterpart: the piccolo. The final melody from the trio is accompanied by a victorious brass section, all marked fortissimo (very loud). Sousa’s primary instrument was violin but as a child he taught himself to play many other instruments. When he was 13, his father first enlisted him in the Marine Corps as an apprentice musician. He eventually became the leader of the Marine Band in Washington, D.C. After a successful civilian music career, Sousa was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Naval Reserve in 1917, as the US entered World War I. He was 62 years old. During the war, he led the Navy Band at the Great Lakes Naval Station near Chicago, and donated all his naval salary except a token $1 per month to the Sailors' and Marines' Relief Fund. On the day of his death, Sousa conducted The Stars and Stripes during a rehearsal with the Ringgold Band of Reading, PA. One of his most significant contributions to American wind band music, The Stars and Stripes Forever was designated the national march in 1987.