Music_Appreciation

Are We There Yet' On May 23, 2010, I had the opportunity to attend a concert given by The Chesapeake Bay Wind Ensemble. What a superb performance! The title of the presentation was “Are We There Yet'” Let me take you on a journey, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the trip. The first piece was entitled “Beyond the Horizon” by Rossano Galante. As millions traveled through the hallow shores by sea, land, and air, this piece painted a picture of the Earth’s beautiful horizon. Two themes were presented through sweeping melodic lines and majestic brass fanfares. The use of the piccolo, flute, oboe, bassoons, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, horns, trombones, tubas, timpani, euphonium, and percussion did a wonderful job of painting a breathtaking journey. Next we are off to Berlin with the “Berliner Luft” by Paul Lincke. This is a Berlin march and also the hymn of Berlin. I felt like I was at a parade, very upbeat. This piece comes from Lincke’s 1899 operetta Frau Luna. It is about a trip to the moon in a hot air balloon, where an adventurous party of prominent Berliners meet Frau Luna and her court. The clarinets, flutes, saxaphones, and trumpits were highlighted. Then off to Korea with the next piece, “Variations on a Korean Folk Song” by John Barnes Chance. This piece is based on the Korean folk song, Arirang. Mr. Chance did a tour in Korea where he heard this folk song. As the title implies, this piece consist of a set of variations. Clarinets quietly introduce the folk song quietly followed by the entire ensemble. Next up is a solo oboe, followed by the flutes, alto saxophones and French horns, and solo trumpet. At this point, the tempo picks quickly until peak and gradually descends to the lowest. The woodwinds and brass slowly play a series of chords. The tempo pick up again with a long solo by the percussion section followed by the piccolos and flutes. The variations of this piece was skillfully portrayed. Now my journey is coming to end by air. We will now experience the brutality of slavery through this next piece, “On An American Spiritual” by David R. Holsinger which is based upon the African hymnal "Were you there'" The opening “Were you there when they crucified my Lord'” and the closing “Were you there when He rose up from the dead'” forms the basis for this strong yet sensitive piece, which is a highly effective expression of the dramatic meaning of the spiritual. We are off to Iowa with “Heartland Sketches” by Mark Camphouse. With this piece, you can almost see the flat lands and the wheat blowing in the wind. Depicts themes of hard work, quiet pleasures, and overall life in nineteenth-century America. This piece includes fragments of the Iowa Fight Song and Alma Mater Iowa. It was designed as a five minute work suitable to open or close a band concert; very quick and upbeat. The horns were outstanding in the fanfare. “Black Granite” by James Hosay was written in tribute to the soldiers of the Vietnam War who gave the ultimate sacrifice. This piece was designed as a symphonic march, very upbeat. All instruments performed, but the horns and drums were the shining stars. Mr. Hosay is an Army veteran, graduate of the U. S. Armed Forces School of Music, a trumpet player and composer. “Where Never Lark or Eagle Flew” by James Curnow is based on an inspiring poem written by an American pilot in World War II, John Gillespie Magee, Jr. who dies at the age of 19 while flying. The brass and woodwind lines reflect the young man’s love for flying and its release from the troubles of the world. The title is actually a line from the poem and it was the basis for a concert band composition. James Curnow published the music in 1993 and it was commissioned by the Graduates Association of Tenri High School Band. We have come to the end of the journey and this is finalized by “America, The Beautiful” by Samuel Augustus Ward, arr by Carmen Dragon. This piece is based on a poem written by Katharine Lee Bates and she got her inspiration from a trek to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado. This is one of many of American patriotic songs and has been performed numerous times. We are home!