Band Bass Clarinet, Bass
Drum, Bassoon, Bells,
Chimes, Clarinet 1,
Clarinet 2, Clarinet 3,
Crash Cymbals, Euphonium,
Euphonium T.C., Flute 1,
Flute 2, Horn, Mallet
Percussion, Oboe,
Percussion 1, Percussion
2, Percussion 3, Snare
Drum and more. - Grade 3
SKU: CF.CPS234
Composed by Travis
Weller. Folio. Cps. Set
of Score and Parts.
8+8+4+8+8+8+4+4+8+4+4+8+8
+8+8+6+6+6+4+8+6+2+4+4+6+
32 pages. Duration 3
minutes, 10 seconds. Carl
Fischer Music #CPS234.
Published by Carl Fischer
Music (CF.CPS234).
ISBN 9781491156346.
UPC: 680160914883. 9 x 12
inches.
Mercury -
the Roman god of
financial gain, commerce,
travelers, boundaries,
luck, trickery,
merchants, and thieves. A
popular deity in Roman
culture, he was instantly
recognized by his unique
winged shoes (talaria)
and hat (petasos). With
its close proximity to
the sun and faster orbit
than all other planets,
the Romans named this
small celestial body
after the swift-winged
messenger of their
culture. It is not
surprising that in
Holst's major orchestral
suite The Planets that
Mercury utilizes such
light and swift themes.
There is some duality to
the title of the work.
Part of it involves my
impression of what a
playful chase of the
winged messenger sounds
like. The other part is
the opening motif chasing
two themes of Holst
around the rest of the
work. It was only after
developing the first few
ideas that I recognized
some of the commonalities
with some of those same
themes from Holst's
orchestral work. There
are several quotations
from that famous piece by
Holst (notably as both
are stated successively
at mm. 13-20). The idea
of someone having to
chase the Winged
Messenger struck me as a
unique title around which
to craft a work. One of
my core beliefs about
music is that it can be
imbued with meaning by a
composer, and as the
sonic story unfolds an
ensemble, director, and
audience members can draw
out their own meaning
from the experience. Who
exactly is chasing
Mercury? I leave that up
to the wonderfully
creative minds of the
young ladies and
gentlemen who have the
opportunity to bring this
work to life. The
opportunity to compose
music and allow student
musicians to give this
piece new life and draw
out different meanings is
a humbling experience.
Rehearsal Notes and
Suggestions As stated
earlier, the opening
motif (a range of a
seventh) comes back
frequently in the work in
a variety of settings and
textures. Throughout the
work, it is important for
students to recognize the
two themes from Holst
when they are present in
the sound canvas. If the
solos (clarinet and alto
saxophone) are utilized,
the supporting parts
around and underneath
those lines must be
sensitive and play in
such a way to properly
balance those parts.
There are number of muted
sections for the trumpet
section, and I would
advocate for all trumpets
acquiring the same mute
to contribute to unity in
timbre. The bold fanfare
sections (the first
occurs at m. 37) must be
presented with a unified
articulation style. As
the texture intensifies
prior to m. 169, it is
crucial for the ensemble
to play within themselves
and exercise musical
courtesy to allow all
voices to be heard as
they arrive at m. 181. My
thanks in advance for
your support of this
music, and I wish you
well as you and your
ensemble begin Chasing
Mercury!.
Mercury
– the Roman god of
financial gain, commerce,
travelers, boundaries,
luck, trickery,
merchants, and thieves. A
popular deity in Roman
culture, he was instantly
recognized by his unique
winged shoes (talaria)
and hat (petasos). With
its close proximity to
the sun and faster orbit
than all other planets,
the Romans named this
small celestial body
after the swift-winged
messenger of their
culture. It is not
surprising that in
Holst’s major
orchestral suite The
Planets that Mercury
utilizes such light and
swift themes.There is
some duality to the title
of the work. Part of it
involves my impression of
what a playful chase of
the winged messenger
sounds like. The other
part is the opening motif
chasing two themes of
Holst around the rest of
the work. It was only
after developing the
first few ideas that I
recognized some of the
commonalities with some
of those same themes from
Holst’s orchestral
work. There are several
quotations from that
famous piece by Holst
(notably as both are
stated successively at
mm. 13–20). The
idea of someone having to
chase the Winged
Messenger struck me as a
unique title around which
to craft a work.One of my
core beliefs about music
is that it can be imbued
with meaning by a
composer, and as the
sonic story unfolds an
ensemble, director, and
audience members can draw
out their own meaning
from the experience. Who
exactly is chasing
Mercury? I leave that up
to the wonderfully
creative minds of the
young ladies and
gentlemen who have the
opportunity to bring this
work to life. The
opportunity to compose
music and allow student
musicians to give this
piece new life and draw
out different meanings is
a humbling
experience.Rehearsal
Notes and SuggestionsAs
stated earlier, the
opening motif (a range of
a seventh) comes back
frequently in the work in
a variety of settings and
textures. Throughout the
work, it is important for
students to recognize the
two themes from Holst
when they are present in
the sound canvas. If the
solos (clarinet and alto
saxophone) are utilized,
the supporting parts
around and underneath
those lines must be
sensitive and play in
such a way to properly
balance those parts.
There are number of muted
sections for the trumpet
section, and I would
advocate for all trumpets
acquiring the same mute
to contribute to unity in
timbre. The bold fanfare
sections (the first
occurs at m. 37) must be
presented with a unified
articulation style. As
the texture intensifies
prior to m. 169, it is
crucial for the ensemble
to play within themselves
and exercise musical
courtesy to allow all
voices to be heard as
they arrive at m. 181. My
thanks in advance for
your support of this
music, and I wish you
well as you and your
ensemble begin Chasing
Mercury!