Appalachian Overture James Barnes

This energetic piece appears on many state-required lists and is one of the prestigious All-Japan Top 100 band pieces. Based on folkloric melodies and playable solo passages, the work is well-scored and cleverly cross-cued, allowing nearly every high school band to perform it effectively. (7 minutes). This powerful piece by James Barnes is one of the most popular and well-known wind ensemble compositions in recent years. It is heard at many concerts and competitions and even ranks among the Top 100 wind ensemble compositions in Japan. APPALACHIAN OVERTURE is programmatic in nature and contains several melodies that one might trace back to folklore, but all are original creations by James Barnes. The work also features some beautifully playable solo passages, and the score is so carefully orchestrated that many wind ensembles, from school-level to professional, can perform it.

Original Comment by James Barnes:

In 1983, composer and conductor Claude T. Smith asked me to write a piece for the 25th anniversary of the Wingert and Jones Music Company, a publisher in Kansas City that had published Smith's early works and is one of the best sheet music retailers in Central America.
Initially, I declined this composition request because I had no room for further compositions in 1984. However, after explaining my time constraints to Smith, we found a solution: We decided to take a piece I had written for a high school honor band in North Carolina and use it for the publisher's anniversary. The result was the 'Appalachian Overture', which was premiered in the spring of 1984 by the Alamance County Honor Band. In the summer of 1984, the piece was then published by Wingert and Jones; it is my only work with this publisher.

The overture is written in A-B-A form. The middle section evokes the type of folklore common in the southeastern United States, where the Appalachian Mountains are located. 'Appalachian Overture' is a very powerful and joyful work. The slower middle section allows the listener a brief moment of respite before the energetic Da Capo and dramatic final section where both main themes lie contrapuntally on top of each other bring the piece to a brilliant conclusion.

JAMES BARNS

Besetzungsliste / Instrumentation:

1 Full score

1 Condensed Score
1 Piccolo
2 Flöte 1
2 Flöte 2
2 Oboe 1,2
2 Bssoon 1,2
4 Klarinette 1
4 klarinette 2
4 Klarinette 3
1 Alt-Klarinette
2 Bassklarinette
1 Bb Kontrabass-Klarinette
1 Eb Kontrabass-Klarinette
4 Alt-Saxophon 1,2
2 Tenor-Saxophon
1 Bariton-Saxophon

3 Tompete 1
3 Trompete 2
3 Trompete 3,4
2 Horn in F 1,2
2 Horn in F 3,4
2 Posaune 1
2 Posaune 2
2 Posaune 3
1 Euphonium T.C.
2 Euphonium B.C.
2 Tuba
1 String Bass
2 Percussion1,2
2 Percussion 3,4
1 Bells
1 Timpani

Kategorie / Categorie: Concert Band Concert Band Grade 4 & Up
Besetzung / Instrumentation: Concert Band
Verlag / Publication: Wingert-Jones Publications
AE

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