SKU: PR.16500092L

UPC: 680160039531. 11 x 17 inches.

Zion is the third and final installment of a series of works for Wind Ensemble inspired by national parks in the western United States, collectively called Three Places in the West. As in the other two works (The Yellowstone Fires and Arches), it is my intention to convey more an impression of the feelings I've had in Zion National Park in Utah than an attempt at pictorial description. Zion is a place with unrivalled natural grandeur, being a sort of huge box canyon in which the traveler is constantly overwhelmed by towering rock walls on every side of him -- but it is also a place with a human history, having been inhabited by several tribes of native Americans before the arrival of the Mormon settlers in the mid-19th century. By the time the Mormons reached Utah, they had been driven all the way from New York State through Ohio and, with tragic losses, through Missouri. They saw Utah in general as a place nobody wanted, but they were nonetheless determined to keep it to themselves. Although Zion Canyon was never a Mormon Stronghold, the people who reached it and claimed it (and gave it its present name) had been through extreme trials. It is the religious fervor of these persecuted people that I was able to draw upon in creating Zion as a piece of music. There are two quoted hymns in the work: Zion's Walls (which Aaron Copland adapted to his own purposes in both is Old American Songs and the opera The Tender Land) and Zion's Security, which I found in the same volume in which Copland found Zion's Walls -- that inexhaustible storehouse of 19th-century hymnody called The Sacred Harp. My work opens with a three-verse setting of Zion's Security, a stern tune in F-sharp minor which is full of resolve. (The words of this hymn are resolute and strong, rallying the faithful to be firm, and describing the city of our God they hope to establish). This melody alternates with a fanfare tune, whose origins will be revealed in later music, until the second half of the piece begins: a driving rhythmic ostinato based on a 3/4-4/4 alternating meter scheme. This pauses at its height to restate Zion's Security one more time, in a rather obscure setting surrounded by freely shifting patterns in the flutes, clarinets, and percussion -- until the sun warms the ground sufficiently for the second hymn to appear. Zion's Walls is set in 7/8, unlike Copland's 9/8-6/8 meters (the original is quite strange, and doesn't really fit any constant meter), and is introduced by a warm horn solo. The two hymns vie for attention from here to the end of the piece, with the glowingly optimistic Zion's Walls finally achieving prominence. The work ends with a sense of triumph and unbreakable spirit. Zion was commissioned in 1994 by the wind ensembles of the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Oklahoma. It is dedicated to the memory of Aaron Copland.

SKU: PR.466000470

UPC: 680160099405. 11 x 17 inches.

This is the second incarnation of a work I first composed in 1994 for symphonic wind ensemble. The earlier version was intended to be the summation of three-part suite, each part being named for a different national park in the Western United States. This orchestral version, commissioned in 1999 by the Utah Symphony and dedicated to the memory of Aaron Copland, is more than a re-scoring of the earlier piece; it is a re-thinking of all its elements. Zion is a place with unrivaled natural grandeur, being a sort of huge box canyon in which the traveler is constantly overwhelmed by towering rock walls on every side of him -- but it is also a place with a human history, having been inhabited by several tribes of native Americans before the arrival of the Mormon settlers in the mid-19th century. By the time the Mormons reached Utah, they had been driven all the way from New York State through Ohio and, with tragic losses, through Missouri. They saw Utah in general as a place nobody wanted, but they were nonetheless determined to keep it to themselves. Although Zion Canyon was never a Mormon Stronghold, the people who reached it and claimed it (and gave it its present name) had been through extreme trials. It is the religious fervor of these persecuted people that I was able to draw upon in creating Zion as a piece of music. There are two quoted hymns in the work: Zion's Walls (which Aaron Copland adapted to his own purposes in both his Old American Songs and the opera The Tender Land) and Zion's Security, which I found in the same volume in which Copland found Zion's Walls -- that inexhaustible storehouse of 19th-century hymnody called The Sacred Harp. My work opens with a three-verse setting of Zion's Security, a stern tune in F-sharp minor which is full of resolve. (The words of this hymn are resolute and strong, rallying the faithful to be firm, and describing the city of our God they hope to establish). This melody alternates with a fanfare tune, whose origins will be revealed in later music, until the second half of the piece begins: a driving rhythmic ostinato based on a 3/4-4/4 alternating meter scheme. This pauses at its height to restate Zion's Security one more time, in a rather obscure setting surrounded by freely shifting patterns in the flutes, clarinets, and percussion -- until the sun warms the ground sufficiently for the second hymn to appear. Zion's Walls is set in 7/8, unlike Copland's 9/8-6/8 meters (the original is quite strange, and doesn't really fit any constant meter), and is introduced by a warm horn solo. The two hymns vie for attention from here to the end of the piece, with the glowingly optimistic Zion's Walls finally achieving prominence. The work ends with a sense of triumph.

SKU: BT.AMP-319-010

9x12 inches. English-German-French-Dutch.

The special occasion that Philip Sparke was honoured to write this piece for was the 200th anniversary of the Stadtmusik Bad Säckingen. Since Bad Säckingen is known as the ’Trompeterstadt’, or trumpeter city, Sparke’s creative process was influenced by Joseph Victor Scheffel’s poem, Der Trompeter von Säckingen (The Trumpeter from Säckingen), which is based on a true story. The overture starts with a majestic fanfare, followed by a lively molto vivace. It is joined by a brilliant trumpet call in honour of the city’s famous resident.

Overture for a Special Occasion is geschreven in opdracht van Stadtmusik Bad Säckingen ter gelegenheid van het tweehonderdjarig bestaan van het orkest, in 2011. De première van het werk vond plaats in januari van dat jaar,onder leiding van Johannes Brenke, de dirigent van het orkest. Stadtmusik Bad Säckingen, uit de gelijknamige plaats in het zuidwesten van Duitsland, werd opgericht in 1811 en is daarmee een van de oudste blaasorkesten in de regio.Het stadje Bad Säckingen (Bad betekent badplaats) staat bekend als ‘Trompeterstadt’ en kan bogen op een trompetmuseum, dat in 1985 de deuren opende. Voormalig directeur van het museum was de bekende Amerikaanse trompettist en musicoloogEdward H. Tarr. De huidige directeur is Johannes Brenke, tevens de dirigent van het orkest. De nauwe band die het stadje heeft met de trompet dateert van halverwege de 19e eeuw, toen de schilder en schrijver Joseph Victorvon Scheffel het populaire epische gedicht Der Trompeter von Säckingen schreef. Het was gebaseerd op een waar verhaal en het gaf de naam van de plaats bekendheid over de hele wereld. Op het plein voor de kloosterkerk staateen standbeeld van Scheffel en zijn trompetspeler. Overture for a Special Occasion is feestelijk van sfeer. Het werk opent met een plechtige fanfare, die de luisteraar meevoert naar een vreugdevol molto vivace. Als verbindingtussen beide gedeelten dient een enigmatisch trompetgeschal: een eerbetoon aan de beroemdste inwoner van het stadje.

Der spezielle Anlass“, zu dem Philip Sparke die Ehre hatte, dieses Stück zu schreiben, war das 200-jährige Jubiläum der Stadtmusik Bad Säckingen. Da Bad Säckingen weithin als die Trompeterstadt“ bekannt ist, knüpfte Sparke an das berühmte Gedicht Der Trompeter von Säckingen von Joseph Victor Scheffel an, das auf eine wahre Geschichte zurückgeht. Die Ouvertüre beginnt mit einer majestätischen Fanfare, welche zu einem festlichen Molto vivace führt. Dazu gesellt sich dann ein strahlendes Trompetensignal zu Ehren des berühmtesten Sohnes der Stadt.

Overture for a Special Occasion est une commande de l’Orchestre d’Harmonie Stadtmusik Bad Säckingen pour la commémoration de son bicentenaire, en 2011. De caractère festif, Overture for a Special Occasion débute avec une fanfare grandiose. Puis se développe un énigmatique appel de trompette, qui rend hommage au plus célèbre habitant de la ville. Un molto vivace d’une texture joyeuse et colorée apporte un pétillant finale cette ouverture écrite pour une occasion spéciale !

Overture for a Special Occasion wè un brano commissionato dal Corpo Bandistico della Citt di Bad Säckingen in Germania nel 2011 in occasione del suo bicentenario. Nota per le sue terme, questa ridente cittadina tedesca ha anche un secondo nome: “Trompeterstadt” (citt del “trombettista”). La stretta associazione della citt alla tromba risale al XIX secolo quando uno dei suoi illustri abitanti, Joseph Victor von Scheffel, scrittore e romanziere, scrisse un poema divenuto molto popolare, Il trombettista di Säckingen. Di carattere festivo, questo brano inizia con una grandiosa fanfara, seguita da un brillante richiamo di tromba. Un molto vivace gioioso e coloritoregala a questa ouverture uno spumeggiante finale, tutto nel segno di una ricorrenza molto speciale!

SKU: CL.012-4166-75

Freedom Rising was written in commemoration of the 150 anniversary of Quantrill's raid on the unsuspecting town of Lawrence, Kansas where the residents bravely fought to defend their town from the forces of pro-slavery western counties. Opening with a dark and haunting woodwind choir, the composition quickly journeys into the raging battle that took place that fateful August day in 1863. The slower middle section is a powerful hymn expressing the hope of all townspeople for a successful defense to this sneak-attack. The dramatic powerful conclusion leaves us with the knowledge that this community fought desperately for the freedom of all people. A powerful piece that brings to life this brief but important period in American history.