Wind Ensemble ● Spring 2011 ● 14:00
Tempest for symphonic wind band is a one movement work that is meant to portray the sonic world of a severe windstorm. The work begins with improvisatory notation which serves to support the gesture-driven material presented in the first half. This gesture-driven material transitions to line-driven material in the second half of the work. Overall, the work's formal design is a one-part development or reverse deconstruction, a form in which melodic material is reused and slowly drawn into focus. The pitch material is primarily tonal, utilizing the keys of D major and minor, A minor, and E-flat major. In addition to an original melody, the VILLE DU HAVRE hymn tune is used as melodic material in the later sections of the work. This hymn tune, which is usually paired with the hymn It is Well with My Soul, includes lyrics such as "When peace like a river attendeth my way/When sorrows like sea billows roll/Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say/It is well, it is well with my soul". While the title of this composition is intended initially to convey the external narrative of the tempest, the use of this hymn tune suggests a resolution of a more personal, internal tempest. Either interpretation lends itself well to the work's dramatic arc of disorganization to organization of temporal design.
