Sudden Light (Wind Ensemble Gr. 6)

Sudden Light bursts from silence with playful, dance-like figures in the woodwinds and keyboard percussion instruments, all destined to merge with rising brass fanfares. Its soundscape becomes a musical metaphor inspired by the captivating glint, glimmer, beauty, and strength of nature’s light in the world around us.

Genre: Wind Ensemble | # of Players: 15 Winds + 3 Percussion
Series: Diamond Band Series
Level: 6 | Duration: 4:20

Instrumentation
Conductor's Score (8.5"x11" stapled booklet)

Piccolo (1)
Flute (1)
Oboe (1)
Bassoon (1)
B-flat Clarinet 1 (1)
B-flat Clarinet 2 (1)
B-flat Bass Clarinet (1)
E-flat Alto Saxophone (1)

B-flat Trumpet 1 (1)
B-flat Trumpet 2 (1)
B-flat Trumpet 3 (1)
F Horn 1 (1)
F Horn 2 (1)
Tenor Trombone (1)
Bass Trombone (1)

Percussion 1 (1): Hi-Hat, 2 Suspended Cymbals, Crash Cymbals, 2 Tam-Tams, 2 Woodblocks
Percussion 2 (1): Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Snare Drum
Percussion 3 (1): Vibraphone

Program Notes
Sudden Light breaks the silence with bursts of dance-like figures from the woodwinds, vibraphone, and glockenspiel. Its layers of fanfares develop from these playful motives, always driving forward and upward. These sounds combine in musical gestures as metaphors for the glint, glimmer, and beams that break a darkened cloud, that momentary shimmer in the morning light, or the wisp of a meteor illuminating the darkness. Though they vanish from sight they are indelible as memories.