Faith

"Faith" was commissioned by the St. Olaf College Band, Dr. Timothy Mahr, conductor, for their performance at the 1997 American Bandmasters Association Convention in San Diego, California.

Melodically, Faith is based on a twelve-tone row (G-A-B-D-F#-Eb-Db-F-C-Bb-E-Ab) that is used in its prime form throughout the work (there are no operations performed on the row).  The piece is about nine minutes in length and constructed in a large arch form with a pedal G present throughout the work. This G is hidden by the chaos around it at times, but is always there, eventually overcoming the chaos with its own powerful presence.
 The first section begins with the pedal G, gradually spelling out the row and foreshadowing material to come. The middle section of the work is faster and becomes gradually more chaotic and intense, before the G reasserts itself at the climax of the piece..
The final section fades back into the opening material.

Faith uses a lot of unusual notation and is both musically and technically demanding for all sections.  The large percussion set-up includes three performers on their own sets of tom-toms and bass drum, multiple gongs, and handbells, among other items.

Instrumentation: Piccolo, Flutes 1-2, Oboes 1-2, Clarinets 1-3, Bass Clarinet, Contra Alto Clarinet, Contra Bass Clarinet, Bassoons 1-2, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Trumpets 1-4, Horns 1-4, Trombones 1-4, Euphonium, Tuba, Piano, 5 Percussion.

The "ship to me" score is Concert (9" by 12"), while a PDF download includes scores in Letter, Concert and Tabloid size to accommodate a variety of printers.

The ScoreFlipper file only displays the first 5 minutes of the work.  For a recording of the entire piece by the St. Olaf Band, visit stolafrecords.com.