SKU: PR.465000130

ISBN 9781598064070. UPC: 680160600144. 9x12 inches.

Following a celebrated series of wind ensemble tone poems about national parks in the American West, Dan Welcher’s Upriver celebrates the Lewis & Clark Expedition from the Missouri River to Oregon’s Columbia Gorge, following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Welcher’s imaginative textures and inventiveness are freshly modern, evoking our American heritage, including references to Shenandoah and other folk songs known to have been sung on the expedition. For advanced players. Duration: 14’.
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s Corps of Discovery to find a water route to the Pacific and explore the uncharted West. He believed woolly mammoths, erupting volcanoes, and mountains of pure salt awaited them. What they found was no less mind-boggling: some 300 species unknown to science, nearly 50 Indian tribes, and the Rockies.Ihave been a student of the Lewis and Clark expedition, which Thomas Jefferson called the “Voyage of Discovery,” for as long as I can remember. This astonishing journey, lasting more than two-and-a-half years, began and ended in St. Louis, Missouri — and took the travelers up more than a few rivers in their quest to find the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean. In an age without speedy communication, this was akin to space travel out of radio range in our own time: no one knew if, indeed, the party had even survived the voyage for more than a year. Most of them were soldiers. A few were French-Canadian voyageurs — hired trappers and explorers, who were fluent in French (spoken extensively in the region, due to earlier explorers from France) and in some of the Indian languages they might encounter. One of the voyageurs, a man named Pierre Cruzatte, also happened to be a better-than-average fiddle player. In many respects, the travelers were completely on their own for supplies and survival, yet, incredibly, only one of them died during the voyage. Jefferson had outfitted them with food, weapons, medicine, and clothing — and along with other trinkets, a box of 200 jaw harps to be used in trading with the Indians. Their trip was long, perilous to the point of near catastrophe, and arduous. The dream of a Northwest Passage proved ephemeral, but the northwestern quarter of the continent had finally been explored, mapped, and described to an anxious world. When the party returned to St. Louis in 1806, and with the Louisiana Purchase now part of the United States, they were greeted as national heroes.Ihave written a sizeable number of works for wind ensemble that draw their inspiration from the monumental spaces found in the American West. Four of them (Arches, The Yellowstone Fires, Glacier, and Zion) take their names, and in large part their being, from actual national parks in Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. But Upriver, although it found its voice (and its finale) in the magnificent Columbia Gorge in Oregon, is about a much larger region. This piece, like its brother works about the national parks, doesn’t try to tell a story. Instead, it captures the flavor of a certain time, and of a grand adventure. Cast in one continuous movement and lasting close to fourteen minutes, the piece falls into several subsections, each with its own heading: The Dream (in which Jefferson’s vision of a vast expanse of western land is opened); The Promise, a chorale that re-appears several times in the course of the piece and represents the seriousness of the presidential mission; The River; The Voyageurs; The River II ; Death and Disappointment; Return to the Voyage; and The River III .The music includes several quoted melodies, one of which is familiar to everyone as the ultimate “river song,” and which becomes the through-stream of the work. All of the quoted tunes were either sung by the men on the voyage, or played by Cruzatte’s fiddle. From various journals and diaries, we know the men found enjoyment and solace in music, and almost every night encampment had at least a bit of music in it. In addition to Cruzatte, there were two other members of the party who played the fiddle, and others made do with singing, or playing upon sticks, bones, the ever-present jaw harps, and boat horns. From Lewis’ journals, I found all the tunes used in Upriver: Shenandoah (still popular after more than 200 years), V’la bon vent, Soldier’s Joy, Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier, Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy (a hymn sung to the tune “Beech Spring”) and Fisher’s Hornpipe. The work follows an emotional journey: not necessarily step-by-step with the Voyage of Discovery heroes, but a kind of grand arch. Beginning in the mists of history and myth, traversing peaks and valleys both real and emotional (and a solemn funeral scene), finding help from native people, and recalling their zeal upon finding the one great river that will, in fact, take them to the Pacific. When the men finally roar through the Columbia Gorge in their boats (a feat that even the Indians had not attempted), the magnificent river combines its theme with the chorale of Jefferson’s Promise. The Dream is fulfilled: not quite the one Jefferson had imagined (there is no navigable water passage from the Missouri to the Pacific), but the dream of a continental destiny.

SKU: CF.SPS80F

ISBN 9781491153253. UPC: 680160910755.

With Wind and Water is a musical portrayal of an adventure on the high seas during the sailing age. It was during the 16th to the mid-19th century where large sailing vessels dominated global exploration, international trade, and naval warfare. The piece's compound meter provides the pulse of movement as it pitches and rolls with the rhythm of the waves. The driving main melodies convey the determination and courage of the explorers and their crew. Dissonant harmonies suggest rough seas, turbulent weather, and other constant dangers that sailors must endure. Finally, the ending sweeping melody and climax reflects the joy and triumph at arriving on a new land at the apex of a long and intense voyage.
With evidence of watercraft dating back to 8000 BC, travel by water has remained an important aspect of life to many civilizations. From paddling down a river or crossing a large lake, to steaming across an entire ocean, generations of humans have traveled on water to explore foreign lands, to seek food and precious materials, to move and trade cargo, and to attack and fend off enemies.With Wind and Water is a musical portrayal of an adventure on the high seas during the age of sail. It was during the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century when large sailing vessels dominated global exploration, international trade, and naval warfare.  Our ship sets sail!The compound meter provides the pulse of movement as it pitches and rolls with the rhythm of the waves. The driving main melodies convey the determination and courage of the explorers and their crew. Dissonant harmonies suggest rough seas, turbulent weather and other constant dangers that sailors must endure. The final sweeping melody and climax reflect the joy and triumph at arriving on a new land at the apex of a long and intense voyage. With Wind and Water was commissioned by the Florida Bandmasters Association for the 2016 Nine Star Honor Band.

SKU: HL.44010827

UPC: 884088555825. 9.0x12.0x0.25 inches. English-German-French-Dutch.

Atlantic Odyssey was commissioned by the band program at Oakton High School in Vienna, VA, and its director, Dr. Cheryl Newton. The piece is in two extended movements and seeks to portray an imaginary yacht journey off the eastern seaboard of the USA. The first movement, Sunrise at Sea and the Ocean Awakes, opens with an atmospheric depiction of dawn at sea. Floating woodwinds soar above surging brass until a climax heralds the rising sun. Daylight reveals distant horizons and the prospect of a calm voyage, but the sea is never tamed and a light breeze whips up spray around the boat until a couple of high waves rock the boat alarmingly. But the sea soon calms again and the journey continues serenely. The second movement, Homeward Bound and Spindrift, sees us turn for home, the boat scything calmly through the gentle waves in perfect sailing conditions. But once again conditions change, a stiff breeze tugs at the sails and for a moment we are once again at the mercy of the wind and waves. A moment of calm returns but we are suddenly sprayed by spindrift as a gale picks up. The boat is in danger of overturning but we manage to trim the sail and take advantage of the strong winds to enjoy and exhilarating journey home.

SKU: CL.WA-BCB503A-01

The mysterious under the sea world is explored through an exciting submarine voyage complete with the songs of the ocean's aquatic residents. This work was originally part of the Play Along Twin Pak #3 which is no longer available.