Symphony No. 1 for Wind Ensemble

Symphony No. 1 for Wind Ensemble is a three-movement work lasting twenty to twenty-two minutes. While symphonies by Paul Hindemith, Vincent Persichetti, Frank Ticheli, John Corigliano, James Barnes, and David Maslanka are important contributions to the wind band repertoire, extended compositions are relatively rare. The goal of Symphony No. 1 is to create a challenging work that combines traditional and contemporary compositional techniques in a way that is enjoyable for both audiences and performers. Much of the material in the symphony is derived from a nine-note scale, seen in Figure 1. The sets (01256) and (01267), subsets of the nine-note scale, are also important to the construction of the symphony. Although the music is highly chromatic, there is a tonal center for much of the work. Traditional triads and seventh chords are also used, but not in the manner of functional tonality. Movement I. Adagio; Moderato The first movement is in a modified sonata form with an introduction that mixes aleatoric writing with traditional notation. A slow ascent up the nine-note scale starts in the contrabassoon and rises through the depths of the ensemble at different speeds. The other sections enter one by one, repeating various motives derived from the nine-note scale. The function of the introduction is to build tension and energy, like a large machine gradually warming up before starting its task. The exposition begins in m. 25 with a G major/B-flat major polychord in the brass while the trumpets state the primary theme. G is the main tonal center, but the importance of B-flat creates a conflict that arises periodically throughout the composition. It is B-flat that provides the foundation of the subordinate theme group starting at m. 58. This theme group can be divided into two distinct sections, but both use the set (01267). The first section returns after the second, forming an internal ABA ternary design. A solo trumpet opens the development at m. 115, playing the main theme in an implied 7/8. The development steadily intensifies until the recapitulation at m. 149, which is the climax of the movement. When the subordinate theme appears in the recapitulation, the motives from the B section are fragmented, and elements of the introduction are reincorporated. A G major triad from the flutes, oboes, and trumpets starts the coda, but the underlying B-flat major triad returns in the low winds. The movement ends with the low winds oscillating between G and B-flat sonorities. They finally settle on B-flat while the upper winds continue to sustain G major. Movement II. Allegro The second movement, an ABCBA arch form, is a mischievous scherzo with several solos, duets, and trios. The A section features a recurring motive of three pitches descending chromatically and a trumpet melody that employs the nine-note scale. The melody revolves around C-natural and alternates between Trumpets 1 and 2, while a muted Trumpet 3 punctuates selected notes. The flutes have a skittish accompanying line, using a rhythmic motive with two successive sixteenth notes. A solo bassoon starts the B section at m. 77. The melodic material is generated from the set (01256) and revolves around D-natural. A solo alto saxophone repeats the melody at m. 93 with a countermelody in the baritone saxophone. The tenor saxophone enters at m. 97 to thicken the counterpoint. A suspended cymbal provides the transition into the C section. The melody, first stated in the trumpet and piccolo, ascends up the nine-note scale with the last two notes in reversed order. This motive is followed by a variation on the descending half-steps motive found earlier in the A section. The B section melody returns in the baritone saxophone and bass clarinet. The melody is repeated in a fugue-like manner by the alto saxophones and later the clarinets. The purpose of the imitation is to generate a gradual thickening of texture until the return of the A material. Unlike the first A section, an extra eighth note is added so the meter alternates between 7/8 and 3/4. The sixteenth-note accompaniment eventually overwhelms the melody, leading to the coda where short bursts of repeated notes are scattered about the ensemble. All pitches of the nine-note scale are heard as repeated tone clusters, bringing about a dramatic close. Movement III. Largo The third movement begins ominously, continuing the stark change in mood at the end of the previous movement. The last movement is a large-scale binary structure, functioning as both a slow movement and a finale that one might expect from a standard four-movement symphony. Despite obvious differences between the two sections, the nine-note scale, specifically the set (01256), unifies the movement. The notes of this set can be rearranged to form a chord that contains major and minor thirds and major and minor sevenths. The vibraphone and glockenspiel spell this out in different ways at the beginning of the movement, as shown in Figure 2. The first section of the third movement is unstable and nebulous as it slowly builds to a colossal polychord in m. 38. Instruments are then stripped away one by one, leaving only a C major seventh chord in the clarinets. Clarinets 1 and 2 alternate descending half-steps with the bass clarinet, creating an alternation of chromatically descending major and minor seventh chords that forms the backbone of a chord progression. A reduction is shown in Figure 3. A solo saxophone plays a meditative melody over the clarinets at m. 43. Muted brass accompany successive solos from the oboe and flute before arriving on G major at m. 93. Once again, B-flat major follows shortly behind to counter G major. The clarinets randomly enter, playing an ascending figure up the nine-note scale. They repeat the final part of the figure, which rapidly outlines the third, root, and seventh of a G major seventh chord. This starts a similar progression to that heard at m. 43, this time supporting a trumpet solo. The tempo remains the same, but the rhythmic activity of the accompaniment gives the impression that the tempo has increased. The trumpet melody cadences on G major at m. 120, but the rest of the ensemble descends into chaos by playing an A-flat dominant seventh chord. At this point the trumpets repeat the primary theme from the first movement, gradually falling out of tempo, then back into tempo at m. 127. G major emerges, but it is again thwarted by B-flat major. Fragments of the primary theme are heard again before G major eventually wins out in the final measure of the symphony