Imaginary Dances (Band Gr. 5)

Inspired by folk music from around the world, Imaginary Dances is an impressive 8-movement work for symphonic band by Christopher Marshall that explores the most fundamental aspects of the human condition – agility, nostalgia, devotion, grace, joy, longing, intimidation, and connection.

Genre: Band | # of Players: Standard
Series: N/A
Level: 5 | Duration: 27:00

Instrumentation
Conductor's Score (11"x17" spiral bound)

Piccolo
Flute 1
Flute 2
Oboe
Cor Anglais
Bassoon
E-flat Clarinet
B-flat Clarinet 1a
B-flat Clarinet 1b
B-flat Clarinet 2a
B-flat Clarinet 2b
B-flat Clarinet 3a
B-flat Clarinet 3b
B-flat Bass Clarinet
Alto Saxophone 1
Alto Saxophone 2
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone

B-flat Trumpet 1 / B-flat Piccolo Trumpet
B-flat Trumpet 2 / B-flat Piccolo Trumpet
B-flat Trumpet 3 / B-flat Piccolo Trumpet
B-flat Trumpet 4 / B-flat Piccolo Trumpet
F Horn 1
F Horn 2
F Horn 3
F Horn 4
Trombone 1
Trombone 2
Bass Trombone
Euphonium B.C. 1
Euphonium B.C. 2
B-flat Euphonium T.C. 1
B-flat Euphonium T.C. 2
Tuba 1
Tuba 2
String Bass

Timpani (4 drums)
Percussion 1: Xylophone, Glockenspiel, Marimba, Tam-Tam, Bass Drum
Percussion 2: Slide Whistle, Timbale, Suspended Cymbal, Vibraphone, 5 Gongs, Glockenspiel, Crash Cymbals, Chimes
Percussion 3: Low Woodblock, Snare Drum, Wind Chimes, Triangle, Crash Cymbals, Xylophone, GLockenspiel, Maracas, Suspended Cymbals, Antique Cymbals
Percussion 4: 5 Toms, Triangle, Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Suspended Cymbal, Tam-Tam, Small Triangle, Ride Cymbal, Vibraslap, Crash Cymbals, Cowbell, Low Woodblock, Anvil, Bell Tree

Program Notes
In the 1980s, at the urging of my partner, Seuamuli Tau’ava John Endemann, I made choral arrangements of some of the dance songs he remembered from his youth in the South Pacific nation of Samoa. These little arrangements, particularly "Minoi, Minoi" have gone on to be performed thousands of times by choirs across the world.

In the early 2000s I received a recording of "Minoi, Minoi" from a choir in Belgium. The performance was accompanied by the sound of a didgeridoo. I wrote to the conductor, complimenting him on the high quality of the singing, but pointing out that the folk music of the Australian Aborigine and of Samoa was probably as dissimilar as the folk music of Belgium and China. He wrote back: “I’m sorry you did not like our performance. I was just using my imagination."

When I read his words I immediately realised my error. Composers and performers do not need to be musicologists. Music is supposed to engage and stimulate our imagination. Through modern media we are exposed to musical traditions from around the world. We absorb and experience and interpret them according to our own cultural backgrounds. As long as our interpretation is informed by respect it is worthy of consideration. To deny the validity of personal interpretation is to deny the power and richness of music and the endless creativity of the human spirit.

Some of the following dances may be inspired by musical traditions from around the world. Some may show evidence of multiple musical traditions. None are authentic in any kind of musicological way, but all are authentic and affectionate expressions of my love for dance in all its forms.

Imaginary Dances is dedicated to the memory of John Endemann, an intuitive and accomplished dancer in several musical traditions. It is also a tribute to that Belgian choir conductor whose message opened my eyes. I am so grateful to Louis Martinus for commissioning this music, and to Maestro Yves Segers and the Royal Symphonic Band of the Belgian Guides for performing it.

Part 1 – Agility: Their bodies gleaming in the midday sun, they respond to the commands of the leader with vigorous synchronised slapping of torso and thighs, to the incessant pulse of the log drums.

Part 2 – Nostalgia: She remembered fondly the distinctive dances of her homeland - the gorgeous, bejewelled gowns, the sumptuous ballrooms. Nobody knows those dance steps anymore. Even her homeland has been erased from the map.

Part 3 – Devotion: As the rays of the rising sun race across the dunes, men clad in white robes perform an ancient ritual. Arms outstretched, eyes raised skyward in ecstasy, they move in slow circles.

Part 4 – Grace: “How could anyone consider this heretical?” he thought, looking down at their radiant faces, the immaculate powdered wigs and satin attire reflecting the light of the stained glass windows in an ever-shifting tapestry. “Let us worship the Almighty in the glory of the dance!”

Part 5 – Joy: From the device to the ear to the brain to the limbs, the music brings forth an exuberant expression - by turns passionate, mimetic, gymnastic, jagged, graceful. Dance that celebrates life in all its forms.

Part 6 – Longing: Against a backdrop of emerald green fields under a cloudless sky the dancers’ hands and fingers draw slow, graceful arcs in the air. But can those radiant smiles, the exquisite colours and sounds ever efface the memories lying beneath those fields?

Part 7 – Intimidation: The two sides face off across the valley, each seeking to instill dread, one with pounding dance and fearsome facial expression, the other bellowing an ancient war song. Behind the fortifications the people cower as they have for millennia, awaiting the outcome of this deadly song and dance.

Part 8 – Connection: From the forest the pan-pipers emerge, hair adorned with bright feathers. Their dance celebrates the unity of all things: humanity and nature, the past and the future, the living and the dead, the real and the imaginary.