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| Compositions: Concert Hall | |||
Jubilee 350 Fanfare |
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Compositions: Concert Hall Concertos Fanfares Symphonic works Vocal works Miscellanea |
Subtitled "To the City of Boston" and scored for full orchestra, this fanfare
was composed for the 350th anniversary of Boston in 1980. The work was premiered
by Williams and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra on September 21, 1980, at an
outdoor concert at City Hall Plaza. Williams remarked at the time that the piece
contains "all of the flourish commensurate with this type of affair. In my mind,
it's a tribute to a great city. It has a high energy level and an exciting kind
of feeling, I hope." Just over three minutes in length, the work opens with a bold E-flat-major statement from the horns, soon joined by the trumpets and then the full complement of brass and percussion. Strings enter with a playful, fugue-like subject over an E-flat pedal in the bass. As they repeat this tune, brass and woodwind propel the music forward. The horns then announce a broader, more lyrical, theme, which is repeated with counterpoint from the violins and finally taken up by the strings. The opening fanfare returns, this time accompanied by all manner of bells and woodwind flourishes. The violins pick up their playful tune and are joined by trumpets as the fanfare concludes in a blaze of D-flat major. |
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![]() Sony Classical SK 89364 |
Recordings The first of many Williams fanfares for various public celebrations, it is also one of the best and it is surprising that despite Williams' frequent performances of the work during his years with the Boston Pops he did not record the fanfare for nearly twenty years after its premiere. In June of 2000 Williams finally recorded this work with the Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles for the album American Journey (Sony Classical SK 89364), which was released on January 15, 2002. Sheet Music The orchestral score and parts to this work are not commercially available, nor has any arrangement ever been published. References "Boston's birthday bash," Linda Matchan Boston Globe, September 18 1980, CAL "They clapped, swayed, danced, sang," Kenneth J. Cooper and John E. Yang Boston Globe, September 22 1980 Links The Boston Pops web site Sony Classical web site for the American Journey album |
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Page last modified June 05, 2006 |
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