Prelude and Polka for two clarinets and wind ensemble (2010)
8 minutes
Prelude and Polka was written for clarinetists Raphael Saunders and Julianne Kirk Doyle and the Crane Wind Ensemble, Brian Doyle, conductor, all of whom had already honored me with several wonderful and insightful performances of my music. The initial conception of the piece was completely serious--in fact, the original (yet notably unoriginal) working title was “Duo Concertante”. The opening four minutes or so reflect that serious intent--dark, brooding, foreboding--but then suppressed memories of my past began to emerge in nightmarish fashion.
For you see, I am a recovering clarinetist who grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a city once recognized in a resolution of the United States Congress as “Band City, USA.” If you grow up playing the clarinet in Pennsylvania, you must repeatedly play the Clarinet Polka--that may even be a clause in the contract when you rent or purchase your instrument. Memories of that piece merged in my mind with memories of dozens of performances not only in school bands but with the Allentown Juvenile Band, the Allentown Pioneer Band, the Allentown Municipal Band, and even the Macungie Band. (That last means nothing to most people, but if you grew up in Allentown you know it’s funny.) The programs of these bands, which generally took place in park bandshells or at church or community festivals, featured medleys of Broadway shows, transcriptions of light orchestral works, and marches--lots and lots of marches, not only by Sousa, but by Henry Fillmore, Kenneth Alford, Getty H. Huffine, as well as John Cacavas and Eric Osterling. As a result, the second half of this piece recalls the traditional form of polkas and marches alike: first strain, second strain, and trio. The first strain is unabashedly ripped off from the Clarinet Polka, the second vaguely invokes Them Basses, and the trio dutifully mellows out (except for the solo parts, which if anything become more demonic than ever).
8 minutes
Prelude and Polka was written for clarinetists Raphael Saunders and Julianne Kirk Doyle and the Crane Wind Ensemble, Brian Doyle, conductor, all of whom had already honored me with several wonderful and insightful performances of my music. The initial conception of the piece was completely serious--in fact, the original (yet notably unoriginal) working title was “Duo Concertante”. The opening four minutes or so reflect that serious intent--dark, brooding, foreboding--but then suppressed memories of my past began to emerge in nightmarish fashion.
For you see, I am a recovering clarinetist who grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a city once recognized in a resolution of the United States Congress as “Band City, USA.” If you grow up playing the clarinet in Pennsylvania, you must repeatedly play the Clarinet Polka--that may even be a clause in the contract when you rent or purchase your instrument. Memories of that piece merged in my mind with memories of dozens of performances not only in school bands but with the Allentown Juvenile Band, the Allentown Pioneer Band, the Allentown Municipal Band, and even the Macungie Band. (That last means nothing to most people, but if you grew up in Allentown you know it’s funny.) The programs of these bands, which generally took place in park bandshells or at church or community festivals, featured medleys of Broadway shows, transcriptions of light orchestral works, and marches--lots and lots of marches, not only by Sousa, but by Henry Fillmore, Kenneth Alford, Getty H. Huffine, as well as John Cacavas and Eric Osterling. As a result, the second half of this piece recalls the traditional form of polkas and marches alike: first strain, second strain, and trio. The first strain is unabashedly ripped off from the Clarinet Polka, the second vaguely invokes Them Basses, and the trio dutifully mellows out (except for the solo parts, which if anything become more demonic than ever).