MANHATTAN BEACH MUSIC
Raising the Standards of the American Concert Band and BANDS all Over the WORLD
Exclusive Australian Distribution by Future Music
Begun in the mid-1970's as a set of three sketches for beginning band, the present work was expanded, rescored, and revised in early 1997. Although the difficulty level is somewhat higher in the revised score, the work still represents an opportunity for entry-level bands to become engaged in the concept of programmatic-descriptive music in a setting that makes limited technical demands upon the players.
The evocation of the great outdoors has always been a tradition in twentieth-century American music, with perhaps the best examples found in the music of Aaron Copland, particularly his great ballet score, Billy the Kid. The use of open intervals, sparse scoring, and powerful elemental tunes has become familiar, not only in symphonic music and band music, but also in film scoring.
Each of the movements, Prairie Ritual; Rain On The Mountains and Train Heading West, has a unique, descriptive character with interesting compositional techniques to create the mood.
Performance by Todd Fiegel conducting the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Wind Ensemble
Virtual Score
