Product Description
Back to School 2015, Full symphony orchestra--high school or community orchestra level or above, (2+picc, 2, 2, 2, 4, 3, 3, 1, timp, 2 perc, str). Full score and complete set of parts. Bass clarinet may sub for bassoon 2 if unavailable--substitution part included. Suggest making an enlargement of the conductor's score for performance. Make copies of string parts as needed. Duration is 5 minutes.
OY HANUKKAH: REFLECTIONS AND REVELS is structured as a continuous variation of the traditional melody Oh Hanukkah (Oy Hanukkah in Yiddish). As is typical of many traditional Jewish melodies, it is joyful, while in a minor key. The melody itself is extremely simple, which makes it a great candidate for this sort of manipulation-you can do almost anything with it.
The piece starts out with a kind of a tease, with some introductory solos in the violin and clarinet. Then it gets going, with the original melody, more or less intact, but re-harmonized, and with a sense of nostalgia. As the piece continues, it becomes more fragmented and contrapuntal, and moves into an atmospheric section with bits of celebrations in different locations--like the appearance of a distant marching band in Charles Ives New England pieces, only here its evoking Eastern Europe-like a soundscape to a Chagall painting. The tempo gets faster, and then faster again, and by the very end, it breaks into a Klezmer freylekh, or festive dance.
The audio clip is from the middle, towards the end, of the piece. It is from the December, 2014 premiere performance by the Holyoke Civic Symphony, under the direction of David Kidwell, who commissioned the work. It is licensed by BMI.
Please contact the composer at ebrill@hcc.edu.
Chanukah, Chanukkah, Hanukah, Hannukah, Chanuka, Hanuka
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.