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Christine Qian

Symphonic Winds (P4)

Concert Review Paper

On Tuesday, April 13 at 7:30 PM, I saw the United States Army Field Band play a concert at

Forest View Educational Center. The band consists of one piccolo, four flutes, three oboes/English horns,

three bassoons, one e-flat clarinet, 11 b-flat clarinets, 2 alto/bass clarinets, four saxophones, seven

trumpets, six French horns, four trombones, one bass trombone, two euphoniums, three tubas, one

string bass/electric bass, one harp, one piano, one timpani, and four percussion. The ensemble was

primarily conducted by Colonel Thomas H. Palmatier, with Major Bruce R. Pulver, Captain Leonel A. Pea,

Chief Warrant Officer Gordon K. Kippola, and Command Seargeant Major J. Loran McClung acting as

assistant conductors of various smaller ensembles within the United States Army Field Band. The

Soldiers Chorus was also featured at this concert, which explained the numerous songs featuring

singing in the program.

Second in the program, right after the Patriotic Prologue,was Riders For The Flag, a marchcomposed by John Philip Sousa and edited by Frederick Fennell. Due to the fact that the band went right

into the piece after Patriotic Prologue was finished, I was unsure of exactly where the song began. The

march probably opened with flutes, piccolos, and horns lightly playing a dance. The dance was very

staccato and circus-like, and the piccolo and flutes demonstrated a high level of technique with the

accuracy and control of the high and fast notes. At first, the flute and horn introduction was at a mezzo

piano dynamic level, which steadily increased to mezzo forte, and finally forte, where the cymbal

crashed, announcing the climax and end of the first theme. The chorus of the march was then

introduced by the low brass, which played heavy and marcato in contrast to the short, flighty piccolo

theme. While the low brass played the theme of the march, the higher woodwinds trilled overhead, and

the trumpets played a softer answer to the low brasss call. After repeating this theme twice, the

trumpets carried on to play the melody; the transfer of melody to trumpets was made obvious by the

fact that the rest of the band dropped to a mezzo piano, if not piano, while the trumpets carried on

playing at the dynamic level established in the chorus prior. The trumpet feature then crescendoed to a

mezzo forte as the arrangement threw in more instruments, entangling the melody in a sort of chaos.

Following soon afterwards was a minor-sounding flute feature, which was then followed by a repeat of

the march introduced initially. The piece ended on a repeat of the march at a forte with very little

fanfare. Overall, the band demonstrated great articulations. However, with the exception of the initial

mezzo piano and the sudden drop in dynamics when the trumpets had their soli, there seemed to be

very little dynamic contrast and change in tempo. The piece evoked the image of a constant party that

suddenly stops.

Two songs later, the United State Army Field Band took on Morton Goulds American Salute, yet

another song of patriotism. For this song, the band had Dr. Mallory Thompson, the Director of Bands at

Northwestern University, as their guest conductor. The piece opened abruptly, with intense tripletstongued in accented staccatos. This intense opening then faded no virtually nothing. Snares then bring

in a section where a quiet but distinct bassoon section starts playing; the part is noticeable due to the

silence of the rest of the band, and the theme is reminiscent of that of ants marching. A trade-off

between flutes and trumpets then follow. The trade-off then leads into a very short oboe solo, which is

then passed to the horns. Adding spice to the composition is a sinister twist that then occurs in the

woodwind section, and this sinister melody is amplified and made bombastic by the horns. The entire

band then rises to a very loud sforzando and backs off immediately into a dramatic silence. The same

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theme then sees another variation played on the trumpet, and then theres a section where the

woodwinds play a downward scale. This led to a soft flute melody which then became an exchange

between the flutes and the horns. This exchange then led a crescendo where the timpani and the snares

helped build the intensity. A lull then occurs, fooling the audience into thinking that that was only a fake

climax, only to crescendo to the end, finishing the piece with a characteristic forte.

Later in the concert, sandwiched between two vocal pieces, was Eugene Goossenss Concerto

op. 45 for the oboe, for which Sergeant First Class Daniel Brimhall played the solo. The piece began with

a mystical clarinet flourish, like a gust of magical wind that left a maiden, characterized by the oboe,

curious and wandering. The oboe then went on to flourish up and down with a note pattern that was

seemingly atonal but had a mystical feeling to it, establishing dialogues with the flute. Overall, the first

theme was legato and mezzo forte with constant modulation in the dynamics. A sudden bassoon

arpeggio added a momentary suspense, as if trouble was on the horizon, but the overall mood remained

undisturbed; the oboe continued to play its upward flourish at about a mezzo forte dynamic level with a

slow, pliable. After the second mysterious, staccato arpeggio from the bassoons, the rest of the band

came in, and a new theme was introduced. This theme was minor, dark, like a grotesque dance of

gremlins with its minor tonality and staccato, dancelike rhythms played by the rest of the band under

the flourishing oboe. Then followed a moment of peace, achieved by a major chord, which quickly

dissolved into the old tonality. This concerto has its merits in the level of technique and dynamicsdemonstrated on the oboe, but to me this piece just seems to drag on and on endlessly. More than half

of the piece seems to be the oboe flourishing up and down with little or no modulation in dynamics, and

the end came on suddenly, and was a relief.

Chesapeake Bay March by SSG Adrian Hernandez, a march, opened up the second half of the

concert. Appropriately, it was opened by the low brass, and the band quickly settled into an offbeat

march, with the melody being played by the flutes lightly and articulately and the rhythm established by

plodding quarter notes on the lower instruments. Again, the march sounded carnival-like and festive. It

was played with marcato articulation at about a relative mezzo forte level. (This level in the concerto

would have warranted a forte or maybe even a fortissimo.) There were several crescendos from mezzo

forte to forte, and as the notes get higher, the band had a tendency to crescendo. After a sudden blast

from the brass, the entire band backed down to a mezzo piano for a trio with trombones and flutes. Thelow brass then played the theme and crescendoed, building intensity. This intensity carried over to the

percussion break, an unforeseen twist in the march. After the percussion break was a return to the

carnival-like march with an interesting use of accidentals. As with the first march, the end came abruptly,

without warning, but it was a typical loud, bombastic ending.

Overall, I wasnt too impressed with this band, which Mr. Moore touted as one of the best

bands in America. My opinion might have been influenced highly by the song choice; whereas I

generally prefer romantic symphonies which usually hail from Europe, most of the songs here were

composed right in the United States, and the music of the US is largely characterized by the music

written by Sousa for the marching band and jazz music, neither of which appeal to me particularly. The

concerto, which seemed to be the bands attempt at showing a more expressive, softer side, was at the

other end of the expressive spectrum; while the concerto demonstrated the fact that the band knew

how to play mysteriously and expressively rather than boisterously, it was almost at the other end of the

spectrum, where it was almost difficult to enjoy. The Army Field Band itself showed great versatility in

style, articulation, and dynamics, but I would have enjoyed the concert more if there were less mindless

marches and more slow, expressive pieces that did not involve singing.