James Byron Dean (1931 - 1955) experienced the brightest and briefest movie career ever. In 16 months he made three movies: East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Giant. Only the first had been released when he was killed in a car accident at age 24. His death on September 30, 1955, sparked an unparalleled outpouring of sorrow. For three years after his death, Warner Brothers received more letters to him than to any living actor.
A bronze bust of James Dean by artist Kenneth Kendall stands near Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles, California. There is a Greek inscription on the right shoulder which, when translated reads, “As Summer Was Just Beginning.” This sentiment, from a painting by John La Farge, is a Greek epitaph concerning the death of a young person. I chose it as the title for this piece.
With Quiet Courage
Polish Christmas Music (Part I)
Polish christmas carols are almost all anonymous and have a folk song feeling, making them national in character. Johan de Meij has taken five of these traditional carols and composed this suite after he attended a Christmas service while on holiday in Poland. The opening carol is Poklon Jezusowi (Homage to Jesus) whose bright rhythm is slowed for the rich and reverent Mizerna, cicha (Poor and Quiet). Trumpets announce Aniol pasterzom mówil (An Angel Told the Shepherds), followed by a staccato treatment of Gdy sliczna Panna (When the Lovely Virgin). Rich bell tones complement the melody of Jam jest dudka (I am the musician of the Lord).
Symphony No. 1, "The Lord of the Rings", V. Hobbits
Golliwog's Cakewalk From "Children's Corner Suite"
This selection is one of six included in the Suite, which Debussy (1862 - 1918) dedicated to his five year old daughter. The titles have been explained as suggesting the games played by a French girl with an English governess. Debussy had great enthusiasm for the American cakewalk, here presented with much rhythm and vitality. The tune itself is said to be one Debussy heard played by the Grenedier Guards in London, but it is doubtless made more brusque and jaunty by his droll, even gawkish treatment of it.
Petite Suite
Originally written as a piano duet, the Petite Suite has become better known in its transcription by Henri Busser. With four hands at his disposal, Debussy was able to experiment more easily with unusual textures. The Menuet contains two beautiful passages where melodies are doubled at the 10th below. The final Ballet is uncharacteristic of Debussy at any period, exhibiting a festive bluntness that might have been modeled after the works of Chabrier.
Suite, The Children's Corner
With an impressive list of over 600 compositions for wind band, orchestra, and chorus, Elliot Del Borgo is well respected in the music world. Born Octover 27, 1938, in Port Chester, New York, Del Borgo earned a B.S. degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) (1960), an Ed.M. degree from Temple University (1962), and a M.M degree from the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music (1962). His principal instructors were Vincent Persichetti and Robert Washburn for composition, Gilber Johnson for trumpet, Morris Shotock for violin, and Harry I. Phillips and N. Brock McElheran for conducting. In 1993, he was granted the doctoral equivalency by SUNY. From 1961-1966, Del Borgo taught instrumental music in the public schools in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From 1966 to 1995, he was a Professor of Music and held administrative positions at SUNY Crane School of Music. In his retirement, he is sought out as a lecturer, clinician, and adjudicator. His energetic and firm, but humorous, style makes him welcome by middle and high school students. His willingness to share of his musical experience is welcomed by teachers and performers. He runs his publishing and clinic operations seasonally from North Port, Florida, and Cape Vincent, New York.
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
The Dylan Thomas poem of the same title was the motivation for Del Borgo’s composition. It does not attempt to be a musical representation of the poem, but it attempts to capture the moods, joys, and struggles it contains. The poem expresses a son’s love for his father. Thomas’ father was very ill and nearing the end of his life. Although his father would never see the poem, in Thomas’ mind he implores him to fight against his illness and to treasure the happiness that life can give. People of action would grieve before their leaving and rage for not finishing all they could have done. He wishes for his father’s blessing, but understands the father’s curses of jealousy for the son’s continuing to live.
Stanza 1 Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Stanza 6 And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Italian composer Davide Delle Cese (1856 - 1938) received his initial musical instruction from his godfather, Antonio Geminiani, a theater conductor in Rome. He received formal musical training at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella in Naples. After more than 3 years of work and at age 26, Delle Cese had scored for wind band all of the known national anthems. Following military service, he led bands in Pontecorvo, Venice, and San Leo, finally settling in the port of Bitonto where he became resident bandmaster. He wrote more than 35 pieces for band including marches, lyric works, waltzes, and mazurkas.
Little English Girl (L'Inglesina)
This symphonic march was composed in 1897 and has been ranked as the 10th most popular march in the world. It begins with a lilting melody, reminiscent of L’Inglesina. The march contains sweet melodies, just like arias in an opera. Once heard, played, or conducted, it becomes a part of you and the measure for others of the classic Italian marcia simfonico style.
Norman Dello Joio descends from a long line of Italian church organists. Born in New York City in 1913, he received his musical training from his father, an organist and a coach for the Metropolitan Opera. Dello Joio recalls growing up surrounded by musicians and music in his home. He began working as a church organist and choirmaster at the age of 12. In 1939, he received a scholarship to study at the Juilliard School of Music. Believing that composition suited his interests better than being an organist, Dello Joio studied under Paul Hindemith at Tanglewood and the Yale School of Music. He began his teaching career at Sarah Lawrence College, became a professor of composition at Mannes College (1956-72), and professor of music and dean of the Fine and Applied Arts School of Boston University (1972-9). Hindemith praised the lyrical nature of Dello Joio’s music. A prolific composer, Dello Joio has written for chorus, orchestra, and band, along with many works for solo instruments. His accolades include the Pulitzer Prize in 1957 for Meditations on Ecclesiastes and an Emmy Award for The Louvre in 1965. He was musically active until his death on July 23, 2008 at his home in East Hampton, NY.
Fantasies on a Theme by Haydn
Fantasies on a Theme by Haydn
was commissioned by the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association
in 1968 in honor of the retirement of Leonard Falcone, Director of Bands
at Michigan State University, and in recognition of his devoted service
to music, to education and to his colleagues. Dello Joio commented:
This work for band is based on a theme from a composition for piano by Joseph Haydn. The subtly conceived theme, I concluded, offered an opportunity to fantasize in the musical language of today. The three movements are a constantly varied examination of Haydn’s basic idea. The bubbling humor of the first and third fantasies flank a second which is intensely lyric. In the final sense, it is my homage to a composer who will always remain contemporary.
Variants on a Mediaeval Tune
After a bold introduction led by a cornet fanfare, Dello Joio introduces the theme that forms the basis of these Variants, composed in 1963. The melody of In dulci jubilo is often associated with the Christmas carol Good Christian Men, Rejoice, but it has been dated back to the early 16th century and Martin Luther, who probably borrowed it from older non-liturgical music. The first variation (Allegro deciso) rushes by with such speed that it is hard to recognize that it is based on notes two through five of the melody. The trumpets announce the peasant style of the next variation (Lento, pesante), with the theme being found in the woodwinds and low brass. The rapidly articulated notes of the clarinets hide the theme in the third variation (Allegro spumante). This contrasts with the rich, dark quality of the bassoons and bass clarinets in the next variation (Andante). An increase in dynamic level gives the brass a turn with the theme until it slowly fades away. The final variation (Allegro glorioso) is a spirited proclamation of the theme and conclusion of the work.
Luigi Denza was born in Castellammare, Italy, on February 24, 1846. He studied at the Naples Conservatory. He settled in London in 1887 and became a professor of singing at the Royal Academy of Music in 1898. He wrote one opera, Wallenstein, and over 600 songs. Many of his songs became popular, but could not match the success of Funiculi, Funicula. Denza died in London on January 26, 1922.
Yo Goto was born in Akita, Japan, in 1958. In 1975, while still a student at Yokote High School, his Sokkyo kyoku (Improvisation) was chosen to be a test piece for a band competition the following year. After graduating from Yamagata University as a music education major, he studied with Shinichiro Ikebe and Joju Kaneda at the Tokyo College of Music, graduating as a Specialist of Composition. Goto has composed and arranged a number of works, many of which are useful in teaching music education. He is an active music critic, clinician, and researcher. He is a board member of the Academic Society for Winds, Percussion, and Band.
Funiculi - Funicula Rhapsody
This Rhapsody is a delightful set of variations on the famous melody written by Luigi Denza. Following a fanfare introduction, the composition transitions to a tarantella led by the trombones. Each section of the ensemble gets a turn at interpreting the melody and dynamics. Polyrhythms give way to a simple, slow romantic rendering. The listener is returned to the excitement and vibrancy of the original melody in an effective finale. The words to Funiculi, Funicula were written by journalist Peppino Turco and set to music by Luigi Denza in 1880 on the occasion of the opening of the first funicular railway on Mt. Vesuvius. Although the song was composed in only a few hours, it has remained popular for more than a century. Even Richard Strauss included the tune in the fourth movement of his Aus Italien (1886), believing it to be a popular Neapolitan folk tune.
Carmen Dragon is a conductor, composer, arranger, music educator, and a radio and television personality -- a complete musician. As music director-conductor of the Glendale, California, Symphony Orchestra, he has brought new excitement and personality to the Los Angeles concert scene. He has composed and conducted scores to thirty motion pictures and has released fifty-seven best-selling record albums. Personable, gregarious, at home in all areas of public performance, at ease before audiences young and old, Dragon is among the nation's most respected and beloved musicians.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
The basis of this scherzo was a ballad by Goethe, based on a tale by the Greek poet Lucian (120- 180 AD). This timeless story depicts a young magician's apprentice who tries to lighten his workload by experimenting with magic spells he has seen his master use. When the boy is alone, he commands a broom to go to the well to fetch water for the house. The broom obliges all too well and the apprentice finds that he does not know how to command the broom to stop, when the basin begins to overflow, soon filling the room with water. In desperation, the boy uses an axe to stop the broom's progress, but instead he creates two slaves bent on fulfilling the task. Near to drowning, the apprentice calls for help. The sorcerer arrives and takes command of the scene with a few magic words; both parts of the broom fly back into the corner, the waters recede, and peace returns to the scene. Premiered in Paris in 1897, the work became a favorite of audiences. Walt Disney's casting of Mickey Mouse in the role of the apprentice in the film Fantasia gained an even wider audience for this moral lesson.
Bravura
Bravura is the most famous of Charles Edward Duble’s thirty-one marches. As the title announces, it declares the show of daring, exceptional ability, and technical skill that is displayed by circus performers and musicians. Written in 1918 while Duble was playing trombone with the Sells-Floto Circus, it is a much enjoyed circus “screamer” that was suitable for the opening parade of performers, a wild animal act, or or for aerialists swinging under the great white tents. Listen for the important passages that he wrote for the brass sections.
Greatest of the Czech composers, Antonin Dvorak (1841 - 1904) brought to fruition the nationalism pioneered by Bedrich Smetana. Son of an innkeeper and butcher, he received his initial musical education from the local cantor, Josef Spitz. In his sixteenth year, he undertook systematic study in Prague. By 1866, he was an orchestral viola player and had already composed several chamber works, two symphonies, a Mass, a cello concerto, and a set of love songs. He received a prize in 1874 from the Austrian government, which led him to meet Brahms, from whose friendship he greatly profited. His Slavonic Dances, in which he first made use of the national idiom, established his reputation as a composer and gained the attention of the musical community. In 1892, Dvorak accepted the position of Director of the National Conservatory in New York, where he served until 1895, when he returned to Bohemia to head the Prague Conservatory.
Festival March
Premiered on April 23, 1879 in Prague, Antonin Dvorak’s Festival March evokes both a celebratory and ceremonial character. This march was one of many original works and pageants that marked the silver wedding anniversary of Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth. A grand and stately procession of royalty and dignitaries is denoted by the opening fanfares from the brass. Both rapid and flowing themes from the woodwinds convey the festive spirit and graceful movements found in the grand ballrooms. The last significant Hapsburg monarch, Franz Joseph I died in 1916 after reigning almost 68 years.
Finale from The New World Symphony
This symphony was the first work that Dvorák composed after his arrival in New York to take up the post of Director of the National Conservatory of Music. It was written while the composer was separated from most of his family and all of his friends and he was trying to cope with a new culture. Although Dvorák encouraged the belief that his new symphony was to some extent “American,” for it does quote the Negro spiritual Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, it remains essentially a Czech work. This final movement recapitulates the material of the other movements of the symphony. The principal theme is announced in the brasses after a brief introduction. A lively bridge passage leads to the second theme, which is much quieter and more song-like in character. During the development, echoes of the themes of preceding movements are heard and the work finally reaches a thunderous climax.