MANHATTAN BEACH MUSIC
Raising the Standards of the American Concert Band and BANDS all Over the WORLD
Exclusive Australian Distribution by Future Music
Grade: 2
The programmatic theme of this evocative work brings the world of science into the concert hall. Using the Big Bang as the primary element of inspiration, the main theme is stated boldly, followed by echoes of the original explosion. Eerie sounds and plaintive melodies suggest the emptiness of space before the music comes alive as the planets, stars, and galaxies spin through the universe in an extravagant and light-filled dance.
From the formation of the Universe, this startling work will give any Grade 2 band a chance to try something powerfully different. Like music for modern dance, Cosmos shifts from angry syncopated out- bursts and pyramids of sound to sinewy melodies, one such especially elegant in alto saxophone. A faster more rhythmic section rounds out the formation and expansion of the Cosmos.
Performance by the Ithaca College Concert Band; Dr. Mark Fonder, conducting.