Japanese Festival Quincy C. Hilliard

This is an excellent contest work that explores the style and flavor of Japanese music. Characteristic scales and harmonies are coupled with extensive percussion that mimics authentic Japanese instruments. The scoring is bold and colorful, and challenging enough to please adjudicators and audiences alike!

Japanese Festival is in the key of B-flat. The meter is 3/4, but it changes to 4/4. There is some syncopation throughout. The tempo changes from the opening 120 beats per minute to 60 to 72 beats per minute. The flute has a soli. This composition does not use any actual Japanese music. This title is correlated to the Sounds Spectacular Series, Book 2, Lesson 7. A piano reduction is provided in the score.