Great Plains Saga

SKU: CF.BAS80

ISBN 9781491151259. UPC: 680160908752. 9 x 12 inches. Key: E minor.

Joseph Compello's Great Plains Saga for the beginning string orchestra students depicts wide open spaces, rugged terrain, and covered wagons heading West through the American plains. Students will love playing this contest selection, written in a minor mode. This piece can be learned in as little as 10 weeks, yet showcases the students' abilities and growth.
Great Plains Saga is an easy concert piece for a young string ensemble. The music should be performed in a manner which evokes the rustic openness of the American continent at the time when Native American tribes inhabited it. Accordingly, the music is modal and thus provides an ancient character to the melodies. The first theme appearing at m. 9 consists of six notes. It repeats at m. 17 in the cello part with a countermelody in the violins.  After a brief transition m. 25, the second section begins with a quiet two-measure phrase that is answered forte by the low strings.  This call-and-response episode continues until m. 43 where the transition to the opening theme begins. At m. 49 the director may wish to slow the tempo just a bit to give the music a heavier feel. The coda at m. 57 may be played freely and dramatically.

About Carl Fischer Beginning String Orchestra Series

This series of Grade 1 pieces is designed for first year string groups. The pieces in this series are characterized by:

• Limited parts (often 2nd violin and viola are the same part, cello and bass are same part)
• Limited keys and rhythms - only simple 8th note patterns
• Limited independence of parts
• Playable after limited study time
• First position and natural bowings
• Piano for rehearsal and reinforcement