SKU: PR.46500013L

UPC: 680160600151. 11 x 14 inches.

I n 1803, President Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clarks 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. I have 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. I have 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, doesnt 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 Jeffersons 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 Cruzattes 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), Vla bon vent, Soldiers Joy, Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier, Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy (a hymn sung to the tune Beech Spring) and Fishers 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 Jeffersons 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: FH.FLS01

ISBN 978-1-55440-297-7.

Unparalleled in scope, Overtones offers all the music flutists want in one complete series! This progressive collection includes fundamental repertoire and supporting materials such as Studies, Compact Discs, Orchestral Excerpts, and Technique. The richness of music carefully selected for this compilation will resonate with teachers and students at every level of study.This compilation of standard orchestral passages for flute is an indispensable resource for the developing years and beyond. Teachers and students will find this unrivalled volume essential for examination or audition preparation.
Study in F Major Robert Winn
Learning to Skate Dianne Aitken
Study in C Major Giuseppe Gariboldi
The Yeti Waltz Jamie Thompson
Siren Kathryn Cernauskas
Many and Few Wil Offermans
Study in C Major Giuseppe Gariboldi
Study in C Major Robert Winn
Study in F Major Wilhelm Popp
Study in G Major Christian Cheret
Itchy Feet Oliver Ledbury
Study in G Major Russell Stokes
Study in C Major Hans Koehler
Study in G Major Ernesto Koehler
Study in F Major Giuseppe Gariboldi
Study in C Major Charles Nicholson
Romany Song Philip Sparke
Flute Salad Oliver Ledbury
Cloud Nine James Rae
Study in C Minor Hans Koehler
Study in D Minor Heinrich Soussmann
Study in F sharp Minor Francois Devienne
Hungarian Dance Philip Sparke
Waltzer Oliver Ledbury
One-Line Story Wil Offermans
Groove It! James Rae
Study in E Minor Hans Koehler
Study in B Minor Wilhelm Popp
Study in F Minor Johann Georg Tromliltz
Party Piece Philip Sparke
The Wrong Button! James Rae
Interlude Allen Vizzutti.

About Overtones

Unparalleled in scope, Overtones offers all the music flutists want in one complete series! This progressive collection includes fundamental Repertoire and supporting materials such as Etudes, Compact Discs, Orchestral Excerpts, and Technique. The richness of music carefully selected for this compilation will resonate with teachers and students at every level of study and is the official series for those using The Royal Conservatory Music Development program.