SKU: CF.SPS87F

ISBN 9781491156452. UPC: 680160914999. 9 x 12 inches.

About the Work In the spring of 2008 a large number of wildfires plagued the west coast, including the area where my wife and I lived in northern California. Firefighters all along the West Coast worked overtime in what seemed like an endless battle to protect residents and their homes. After hearing of a number of firefighters who had lost their lives in the struggle, I composed this work as a dedication to them, in honor of their sacrifice. It is not dedicated to any one person or group, or even just to the west-coast firefighters who battled those horrible wildfires; instead, to all firefighters who have given their lives in the line of duty. Although designed as a standalone work, I highly recommend following this composition with one of the many fine band settings of Amazing Grace, as it is commonly performed at firefighter memorials. The one by Frank Ticheli is superb, and if you have access to a good piper there is an excellent version by Jay Dawson which features a solo verse for bagpipe; both are quite stirring. Performance Notes The sustained slower tempo may prove a challenge for some groups; as always, emphasize subdivision. Cues should be used only if necessary due to limited instrumentation. The clarinet and cup-muted trumpets at m. 39 should be very sostenuto (almost organ-like); be careful to stagger breathe. The tempo change at m. 55 should not be much of a challenge, but many groups may tend to slow back down to the original tempo by m. 59; the timpani player can greatly assist in avoiding this problem. The coda at m. 82 may be taken more slowly than the indicated tempo if your solo flutist can manage the lengthy sustained notes.
About the WorkIn the spring of 2008 a large number of wildfires plagued the west coast, including the area where my wife and I lived in northern California. Firefighters all along the West Coast worked overtime in what seemed like an endless battle to protect residents and their homes. After hearing of a number of firefighters who had lost their lives in the struggle, I composed this work as a dedication to them, in honor of their sacrifice. It is not dedicated to any one person or group, or even just to the west-coast firefighters who battled those horrible wildfires; instead, to all firefighters who have given their lives in the line of duty.Although designed as a standalone work, I highly recommend following this composition with one of the many fine band settings of Amazing Grace, as it is commonly performed at firefighter memorials. The one by Frank Ticheli is superb, and if you have access to a good piper there is an excellent version by Jay Dawson which features a solo verse for bagpipe; both are quite stirring.Performance Notes The sustained slower tempo may prove a challenge for some groups; as always, emphasize subdivision. Cues should be used only if necessary due to limited instrumentation. The clarinet and cup-muted trumpets at m. 39 should be very sostenuto (almost “organ-like”); be careful to stagger breathe. The tempo change at m. 55 should not be much of a challenge, but many groups may tend to slow back down to the original tempo by m. 59; the timpani player can greatly assist in avoiding this problem. The coda at m. 82 may be taken more slowly than the indicated tempo if your solo flutist can manage the lengthy sustained notes.

SKU: BT.DHP-0900226-020

This major concert work cosists o five movements.1st movement: La Laguna del ShimbeSituated high up in the Andes mountains in Northern Peru are the Huaringas, a group of lagoons in isolated and mysterious surroundings. The water has healing powersand for centuries traditional healers have settled there in small villages. From far the sick come to the Huaringas to be treated in nightly rituals, in which the hallucinating juice of the San Pedro cactus gives the prophet a look inside hispatient. The biggest lagoon is the “Laguna del Shimbe”, one of the countless wells of the immense Amazon stream.2nd movement: Los AguarunasFurther downstream in Northern Peru we come across the rain tribe of Los Aguarunas. It’s a proud, beautiful andindependent race, which has never succumbed to domination, not even from the Incas. They live from everything the forest has to offer: fish, fruit, plants, ... . They also grow some crops and live as semi-nomads. They take their fate into their ownhands and after having made contact with modern civilisation, they have integrated new elements into their lives without betraying their own ways.3rd movement: MekaronMekaron is an Indian word meaning “picture”, “soul”, “essence”. The Indians are theorigina inhabitants of the Amazon region. They either live in one place as a group or move around a large region. They all have their own political system, their own language and an intense social life. At the same time they are master of music andmedicine. “Everywhere the white man goes, he leaves a wilderness behind him”, wrote the North American Indian leader Seatl in 1885. As a result of these contacts with the whites, the disruption of most Indian societies began. (In this century alone,80 tribes have vanished completely).4th movement: KêêtuajêThis is the name of the initiating ceremony of the Krahô tribe in the Brazilian state of Goias, in which young boys and girls enter adult life. They are cleansed with water, painted with redpaint and covered with feathers, after which the ritual dance holds the entire tribe spell-bound.5th movement: Paulino FaiakanIn 1988 the Indian chiefs Faiakan and Raoni Kaiapo came to Europe to protest against the building of the Altamira dam inBrazil. As a result of the dam the Indians would be driven from their traditional land and enormous artificial would be created. The project was supported financially by, amongst others, the European Community. In February 1989 the Indian tribesaround Altamira held a protest march for the first time in their history together. Amongst other things they paid tribute tot Chico Mendez, who, murdered in 1988, was the leader of the rubber syndicate and a fierce opponent of the destruction of theBrazilian rain forest. Brazilian and world opinion was awakened. The building of the dam was -albeit temporarily - stopped.