Concordia Wind Orchestra
Dr. Jeff Held, conductor
Composer: Alfred Reed (1921-2005)
Publisher: Molenaar Edition
Fifth Symphony (“Sakura”) 1994
I. Moderately and sustained; Allegro assai
II. Freely, quasi recitative; Lento
III. Allegro molto con fuoco
Composed for: 4 flutes (one omitted), 2 piccolos (omitted), 2 oboes (one omitted), English horn (omitted), 2 bassoons, contrabassoon (omitted), Eb clarinet, 3 Bb clarinets, alto clarinet (omitted), bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, soprano saxophone (omitted), 2 alto saxophones (1 omitted), tenor saxophone (omitted), baritone saxophone (omitted), 2 cornets, 4 trumpets (one omitted), 4 horns, 4 trombones, euphonium, tuba, string bass, harp, timpani, and percussion
The three movements of the Fifth Symphony make up a pattern of contrasting styles and moods utilizing the full instrumental resources of the modern wind orchestra, and ranging in terms of basic musical material from a simple, ancient Japanese children’s song in the second movement to the highly complex harmonic and rhythmic structures of the third, all presented in terms of continually changing tone colors in both individual and combined forms throughout.
The first movement begins with a long-breathed melodic line whose individual note progression was determined by a computer pattern generated from analysis of a telephone number and richly harmonized in woodwinds, saxophones, and horns. The introduction is succeeded by a driving, energetic rhythmic figure whose baic tempo never flags during the remainder of the movement, although several changes of mood occur by way of contrast with the chattering, harmonically based theme that prevails throughout.
The second movement is a set of free variations on what may well be one of the oldest Japanese melodies to come down to us: “Sakura,” a song learned by every Japanese child in school and beloved by all. Sakura means “cherry blossom,” and the cherry blossom and Mt. Fuji have always been regarded as the national symbols of Japan, the eternal image of the land and its people through the ages. Tender and lyrical, tinged with sorrow and nostalgia, the music of this movement presents a strong contrast to the forceful, driving character of the first, and finally dies away in a dark somber color of low brass sounds.
The third movement resumes the forward momentum of the first with even more pungent harmonies underlying its short, upward-thrusting theme in the brass at the very beginning, and developed in a maze of contrapuntal lines accompanying it. The middle section “smooths out” the harmony somewhat, revealing a simpler sounding melodic line that is, however, actually the same basic sequence of tones, and this portion of the music fades slowly away, the underlying harmonic texture becoming almost purely tonal by comparison. Then the drive forward begins again with a fugato in the muted brass accompanied by the percussion which is finally joined by the other instruments ending in an outburst of bright, hard-edged color, with a final statement of the main theme as a virtuoso timpani solo thundering out over the full ensemble in a basic C-major tonality. -Alfred Reed
Concordia Wind Orchestra: Fifth Symphony (“Sakura”) Movement 3 cuisinart 雪糕機 | |
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