The Road to Independence

Transcription

1 The Road to Indeendence or orchestra RUSSELL NADEL (2010)

2 Instrumentation: Piccolo Truets in C Violin I 2 Flutes 4 Horns in F Violin II 2 Oboes 2 Trombones Viola 2 Clarinets in Bb Tuba Violoncello 2 Bassoons Contrabass Contrabassoon Tiani Percussion (4 layers) Vibrahone Tubular Bells Large Tam-Tam Susended Cymbal near Crash Cymbals Rainstick near Bass Drum Snare Drum Har Piano Note: The score is transosed. Duration = circa Program Notes: The Road to Indeendence was commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center or the Perorming Arts in 2010 in connection with the ARTSEDGE educational rogram (htt://artsedge.kennedycenter.org/). Under the ausices o the ARTSEDGE rogram, ourth-grade students rom Fairax County Public Schools (VA) and Prince George s County Public Schools (MD) are treated to themed educational concerts by the National Syhony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center each year. The theme o the concerts was Sounds Historic, and eatured orchestral musical coositions with clear connections to world history. The students were invited to exerience how coosers create music rom extra-musical insirations by designing three-art Hollywood-style storyboards. The students selected three events rom a timeline o iortant historical events leading u to the signing o the Declaration o Indeendence, illustrated each, and wrote suggestions or mood, tye o music (i.e., emotional characteristics, etc.) and instrumentation or each event. I then had the oortunity to review these storyboards, quantiy their suggestions, and design and coose an original coosition that relected their ideas and inut. The Road to Indeendence is the result. I used the students suggestions or mood and instrumentation throughout, and I used the students most-suggested events as the main structures o my iece. I reresented the events o the 177 Boston Tea Party in the introductory section, which starts with watery sounds, including the rainstick and the vibrahone. To reresent the evening s events beginning at 7:00, listen or seven chimes o the tubular bells, ollowed by two war whoos as rimary sources say the disguised colonists let out at that time. Then listen or quiet music reresenting the colonists silent, secretive work duing tea into Boston Harbor, unctuated only by the slashes o the tea boxes hitting the water (reresented by bass drum and susended cymbal hits). The main melody was insired by, and is meant to reresent, Patrick Henry s insired Give me liberty, or give me death seech to a meeting o Virginia delegates in The melody is actually a musical setting o some o the key hrases rom the seech, and builds in volume and intensity as Henry s voice did during his seech. The B section reresents the military actions o 1775 that receded the signing o the Declaration o Indeendence. It begins with a marching ercussion solo that reresents the Battles o Lexington and Concord, and quickly moves into a longer section reresenting the colonists militia training, leading u to the eic Battle o Bunker Hill. I used the iccolo and lute to reresent military iers, always accoanied by the marching ercussion sounds o bass drum, crash cymbals and snare drum. The drums lay a collage o Revolutionary War drum calls actually used on the battleield, including the Sergeant s Call, Reveille, and the Yankee Doodle call. All the while, the clarinets and bassoons lay a transormed version o the oular Revolutionary War melody Chester, coosed by American William Billings. Intensity builds until loud drum and cymbal hits signal the tide o the War turning at the Battle o Bunker Hill. The inale o the iece eatures a re-imagined version o the Patrick Henry melody, using a dierent meter, uller orchestration, and a new major key center. I used the triuhant sounds o the brass instruments to reresent the colonists eventual victory over England, resulting in the signing o the Declaration o Indeendence in The very end o the music eatures loud clanging chimes which reresent the joyous ringing o the Liberty Bell, which was heard rom the tower o Indeendence Hall summoning the citizens o Philadelhia to hear the irst ublic reading o the Declaration o Indeendence. Russell Nadel May 2010 Coyright 2010 Russell A. Nadel. All rights reserved.

3 Piccolo THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE Andante (q = 60) RUSSELL NADEL Flute 1.2 Oboe 1.2 Clarinet in Bb 1.2 Bassoon 1.2 Contrabassoon Truet in C 1.2 Horn in F 1 4 Trombone 1.2 Tuba Tiani Vibrahone Tubular Bells Rain Stick Susended Cymbal Tam-tam Har Andante (q = 60) ree roll m To sus. cym. legato, bisbig. ree alternation Solo Solo, stoed To tam-tam m To bass drum To sus. cym. Piano legato, ree roll Violin I Andante (q = 60) Violin II Viola Violoncello Contrabass Coyright 2010 Russell A. Nadel. All rights reserved. The Road to Indeendence was commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center or the Perorming Arts in 2010 in connection with the ArtsEdge educational rogram (htt://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/).

4 2 Picc. 8 A C Tt. stacc. A, oen con s Ti. S. Cym. Bass drum H. I A izz. izz. izz. izz. div. izz. div. unis. unis.

5 Picc. 15 B Solo m legato oco accel. Solo legato, distinto C Tt. B oco accel. Ti. S. Cym. H. arco Solo B legato, nobile m m snares on legato oco accel. I arco arco div. unis., arco arco div. div.

6 4 Picc. C Tt. Ti. Tub. B. S. Cym. C H. I 22 C Poco iù mosso (q = 64) m legato m legato m legato m legato m m m m m legato m legato m legato m m m m m m Poco iù mosso (q = 64) m m m legato senza s div., trem. unis., trem. trem.

7 Picc. C Tt. Ti. Tub. B. S. Cym. H. I 27 D m m m D m m m D, div. m, div. m div. m m m m m m m 5

8 6 Picc. C Tt. Ti. Tub. B. S. Cym. H. I 1 m s s s m s m s s m s m s s s s s div. s To crash cym. s s s s trem. s s trem. trem. trem. s

9 Picc. C Tt. Ti. H. I 5 E Molto iù mosso, aggressivo (q = 18) E Molto iù mosso, aggressivo (q = 18) m m m m m Molto iù mosso, aggressivo (q = 18) E wood mallet Crash cymbals m 7

10 8 Picc. F 4 Solo m m molto legato molto legato m C Tt. F stoed stoed Solo con s Ti. m sub. m m m H. F I

11 Picc. 48 G m m Solo m C Tt. m G Ti. H. m sub. m m m m G I unis.

12 10 Picc. C Tt. 5 cresc. oco a oco dim. cresc. oco a oco dim. m cresc. m cresc. cresc. cresc. oco a oco Ti. m cresc. sub. m m m H. I m m sub. sub.

13 Picc. 58 H I oco rit. Grandioso, nobile, broadly (h = 60) 11 C Tt. Ti. H. I oco rit. Grandioso, nobile, broadly (h = 60) (con s) H I senza s H m legato legato legato m m marc. m m oco rit. Grandioso, nobile, broadly (h = 60) I div., trem. div., trem. div., trem. div., trem. unis., trem.

14 12 Picc. C Tt. 66 m m cresc. Ti. H. I gliss. m sim. m

15 Picc. 6 1 C Tt. Ti. H. I m m m m m legato div., unis., legato legato unis., legato m gliss.

16 14 Picc. C Tt. Ti. H. I 72 m m m unis. m m gliss. div.

17 Picc C Tt. Ti. Tub. B. T.-t. m sub. m sub. m sub. m sub. m da H. I s 7 trem. s 7 trem. gliss. 7 7 da trem. unis. 7 s trem. unis. trem. da da