Tocata & La Tumba de Alejandro Garcia Caturla from Islas y Montanas Shelley Hanson

M-051-65989-0

Shelley Hanson originally composed Islas y Montanas for orchestra. "Tocata" is the first movement and functions as a fanfare or introduction. It features the entire ensemble clapping rhythmic patterns based on the Cuban 3/2-clave rhythm. It's a great way to get the crowd ready for "La Tumba de Alejandro Garcia Caturla" originally the fouth movement from Islas y Montanas. It is beautifully transcribed here for concert band. It is a musical rumination about Cuban composer Alejandro Garcia Caturla (1906-1940) who studied with Nadia Boulanger but was later assassinated while presiding as a judge. It opens with a haunting English horn cadenza (alternate cueing priveded) followed by harmonic shifts, intense soli writing and driving rhythms that sweep through the ensemble.