Erick Eckstrom Conceptual Analysis of the Score 11/22/2012 Broad Description American Wind Band Music Opener of a program/performance Part of a holiday series of works by Ron Nelson Type/Genre Label Overture 20 th -century American Wind Band Repertoire Background Information Rocky Point Holiday composed by Ron Nelson in 1965 was commissioned by Frank Bencrisutto and the University of Minnesota Concert Band. The band program wanted to bring a new piece of American music with them on their tour to Russia. They wanted something that was virtuosic and could open the show. Nelson asked Bencrisutto what demands he should limit the composition to, Bencrisutto told him there were no limitations. Rocky Point Holiday is a one of eight overtures he composed. Many consider Rocky Point Holiday to be a pivotal moment in scoring for wind band, mainly because of its transparent orchestration. Ron Nelson commented that this style of composition was highly influenced by the time he spent at Eastman, under the direction of Frederick Fennell. Nelson composed most of the piece while vacationing at Rocky Point seaside resort in Rhode Island. This piece by Ron Nelson is full of challenging solos, so this must be taken into consideration before programming it on your concert. Being a percussionist, the first things I noticed were the extremely challenging percussion parts; you will need a strong percussion section. The marimba part sounds rather soloistic, though it is actually playing more of an accompanimental role. The rest of the keyboard percussion section, the glockenspiel,
xylophone, and vibraphone also have very demanding parts (the vibraphone part even includes four mallets!) The timpani part is extremely demanding as it requires a lot of foot work and tuning. The auxiliary percussion and battery percussion sections are very busy, playing everything from anvil to bongos to field drum to celeste (you will have to find a proficient piano player). Though Rocky Point Holiday does not have many true solos, it does have many places where the flute, piccolo, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, and trumpet are marked as one player. Because of these soloist" demands, section independence, and other challenges, Rocky Point Holidayprobably wouldn t be appropriate for young high school band, or even most older high school bands. Rocky Point Holiday demands extremely mature musicians who have developed all of the necessary musical and technical skills. Elements of Music Form: A B A B Coda -Theme A -Theme B -Theme A -Theme B -Theme A -Theme B -Theme A -Closing -Theme A -Closing Rhythm: +2+ motive 16 th note ostinatos Low brass syncopated groove at B Short groupings of 16 th notes 1E+, 2+A Rhythmic augmentation of theme A Melody: Ron Nelon s orchestration in Rocky Point Holiday requires extremely mature musicians. Much of the time, he will write the theme for a certain group of instruments, then, he ll work another secondary melodic line into that theme. This demands a lot of independence from the musicians. Theme A is major modes, while theme B experiments with different modes
and harmonies. The second time theme B is stated, Nelson uses a lot more chromaticism to match the exotic sounds of the percussion section. Harmony: In the first statement of theme A, it is in C major. The woodwinds are playing more of an accompanimental role, as they are outlining major 7 chords and stacked thirds with short sixteenth note groupings 1E+. The B section adds a lot of tension by modulating quickly through keys and adding very dissonant chords towards the end of the section. In the A section, Nelson does a lot of transposing of motivic material from section A. Timbre: This piece has so many colors and layers. Through the woodwind and keyboard percussion ostinatos and the percussion vamps in section B, Ron Nelson was able to create extremely varied sounds. The moods created in section A and A are so very different from section B and B. In general, I would say the B section is much more dark than the A section. It gives a feeling of discomfort because of the modes and chromaticism. Texture: From the very beginning of Rocky Point Holiday through the first theme shows how Nelson contrasts textures. The denseness of scoring is varied throughout the piece to help make build-ups more dramatic. His use of thin scoring, or one on a part really helps to clear out the sound. Throughout the piece, it is pretty obvious who is playing accompanimental roles and who is the primary melody, so for that reason, I would say the piece is largely homophonic. Expression:
The introduction of Rocky Point Holiday is marked at fortissimo, but within four measures, the whole ensemble is playing as soft as pianissimo. Theme A is stated at a softer dynamic and this section builds intensity to theme A, where it drops down in volume. This theme builds quickly to the restatement of theme A. Here, the dynamic drops down even lower than the original statement of theme A, and the music is scored for one on a part. After a huge build to the end of the A section, the A section transitions to the softer B section through diminuendoing sixteenth notes in the snare drum part. Subito dynamics in the accompanying clarinet parts help to change to a more aggressive style. With the key modulations, the dynamics are also increasing to build intensity. Nelson also uses sforzandos in the syncopated motive from theme A. Overall, Nelson uses contrasting dynamics to build intensity and different dynamics to give similar motives a different character. The Heart of the Music To me, the most important part about this piece is the diversity in musical styles. From majestic and triumphant fanfares to mysterious and exotic ostinatos, Rocky Point Holiday is a great representation of varied styles. Concepts that can be taught using this composition Composers can create musical energy through rapid modulations Composers can create harmonic interest through arpeggios (woodwinds and percussion) Composers can use syncopation for more energy How to balance several layers of rhythms, melodies, and harmonies
Keyboard percussion, battery percussion, and auxiliary percussion can play a very important role in the ensemble How to approach and interpret different variations of similar material Blocher, L., Migliaro, Corporon, E., Cramer, R., Lautzenheiser, T., Lisk, E. & Miles, R. (2002). Teaching Music through Performance in Band, Volume 4. Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc.