SLIGHTLY COMIC OVERTURE
for orchestra
Written: 1995-96/2022
Duration: 7’
Instrumentation: Piccolo, 3 Flutes (Flutes I and II doubling Piccolo, Flute III doubling Alto Flute), 2 Oboes, English Horn, E-flat Clarinet, 2 B-flat Clarinets, B-flat Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, Contra Bassoon, 4 F Horns, 3 C Trumpets (Trumpet I doubling B-flat Piccolo Trumpet, Harmon and straight mutes needed), 2 Trombones (straight mutes needed), Bass Trombone, Tuba, Timpani (20”, 23”, 26”, 29” & 32”), 3 Percussion, Harp, Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello, Double Bass (with C-Extensions)
Percussion Instrumentation: Percussion 1—Xylophone (shared with Perc. II), Orchestra Bells, Lion’s Roar (shared with Perc. II), 2 Brake Drums (high, low: F5 and G5 preferred, if available), Car Horn (E5 preferred, if available), Ratchet (mounted), Medium Triangle; Percussion II—Xylophone (shared with Perc. I), Bass Drum (shared with Perc. III), Snare Drum, Lion’s Roar (shared with Perc. I), Cuíca, 5 Temple Blocks, Castanets, Whip (Slap Stick), Small Triangle; Percussion III—Bass Drum (shared with Perc. II), Snare Drum (drum sticks with felt heads on butt ends needed), Crash Cymbals (mounted to Bass Drum and unmounted set), Sizzle Cymbal, 3 Wood Blocks (high, medium, low), Ratchet, Whip (Slapstick)
Dedicated to Peter Bay and the Mostly Modern Festival.
World Premiere: Mostly Modern Orchestra, Mostly Modern Festival, Peter Bay, Conductor, Skidmore College, Arthur Zankel Music Center, Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, Saratoga Springs, NY, June 12, 2022.
Partial Reading: Indiana University Symphony Orchestra, Indiana University School of Music, Bloomington, IN, November 27, 1995.
Publisher: Bill Holab Music
Program Note
Overtures often come before operas or other large works. In this case, Slightly Comic Overture is a stand-alone piece—in the spirit of an overture—but more a free agent and not attached to anything else. It is my first orchestral work, and was inspired by the music of Leonard Bernstein and animated film composers such as Carl Stalling, and to a lesser extent, music by Aaron Copland, Béla Bartók, and Alfred Schnittke. Since I composed it when I was fairly young, I decided to revise it, with the hope that anything that I updated would only enhance or clarify everything and not change the nature of what I originally composed, or cause it to lose its youthful spirit. In this sense, Slightly Comic Overture is really a sort of hybrid: an intermingling of youthful exuberance with maturity, and a few colorful, more serious moments with others that are more humorous and playful. Slightly Comic Overture is dedicated to Peter Bay and the Mostly Modern Festival.