Kentucky Home David R. Gillingham

Band
Number of Players:Standard
Copyright:2012
Piccolo
Flute 1
Flute 2
Oboe 1/2
Bassoon 1/2
B-flat Clarinet 1
B-flat Clarinet 2
B-flat Clarinet 3
B-flat Bass Clarinet
Alto Saxophone 1/2
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone

B-flat Trumpet 1
B-flat Trumpet 2
B-flat Trumpet 3
F Horn 1/2
F Horn 3/4
Trombone 1
Trombone 2
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Baritone T.C.
Tuba

Piano

Timpani (4 drums)
Percussion 1 (crotales, xylophone, suspended cymbal)
Percussion 2 (bells, marimba, temple blocks, crash cymbals)
Percussion 3 (snare drum, crash cymbals, woodblock, 4 tom-toms, crotales)
Percussion 4 (suspended cymbal, hi-hat, tam-tam, brake drum, tambourine)
Percussion 5 (bass drum, slapstick, 4 tom-toms, bells)
Stephen Foster wrote My Old Kentucky Home in 1852. Between 1895 and 1901 the Edison Quartet recorded the song on a brown wax cylinder and the song became hugely popular. In 1928 the song was adopted as Kentucky's official state song. Kentucky Home was commissioned by the Psi Chapter, Phi Beta Mu International Bandmaster Fraternity, with the request that My Old Kentucky Home be included in the piece. Having an affinity for the songs of Stephen Foster, I was inspired and motivated to write a piece that celebrated the great state of Kentucky and sought to capture the pioneer spirit of Daniel Boone and others who led the area to statehood in 1792. The piece alternates between a spritely theme (first heard in the trumpets) and Foster's My Old Kentucky Home which is first eluded to in the slow introduction. The spritely theme is indicative of the pioneer spirit of the early Kentuckians and, of course, the Foster song reminds us, quite nostalgically, of the beautiful countryside where thousands of people have made their homes. A development section occupies the middle of the piece which includes an array of percussion and a fugal exposition built on a subject utilizing the first two phrases of My Old Kentucky Home. This section drives toward a tour de force in which both themes are united and culminate in a spirited and exciting coda.