Lamentations For Winds (2024)
Instrumentation: Level 5 Wind Ensemble
Approx. Running Time: 9:45
A lament is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.
Typically, when a composer begins writing a new work, some decisions are made ahead of time; for example, we may decide on a general energy level, a rough form, or even a title. However, in this instance, I only decided on the title after finishing the work. Occasionally, as an artist, it is easier just to write and not to worry about compositional rules and formalities. At the end of the process, when the work was finished, I listened back and noted that it sounded rather sorrowful.
Therefore, I named it “Lamentations.”
Within this work, there aren’t the typical difficulties. You won’t find fleeting runs, daring intervallic leaps, or other showy technical elements. Instead, this work is about control: control of pitch, control of tone, control of dynamic; an equally difficult endeavor. When the work has been executed correctly, the ensemble should blend together and sound almost like one entity. If you hear this presented to you today in the concert hall, know that the players and conductor have worked on this, and it came from no accident.
This work was originally composed for String Ensemble and was commissioned and premiered by the Riverside Philharmonic, under maestro Tomasz Golka, in 2019 in California. The transcription was finished in the summer of 2024.
Purchasing the score/parts set grants you all PDF files, 1x coil-bound score (10 by 13) and 1 printed copy (per part) of each booklet printed on 12 by 18 paper.