Title: Directions
Commission/Dedication: Written for Michael Fischer, tuba and the Boise State University Symphonic Winds
Premiere: Premiered by Michael Fischer. Dates unknown.
Composer: Barbara York
Publisher: Cimarron Music Press
Year: 2006
Purchasing: https://www.cimarronmusic.com/directions-8589
Program notes from the composer:
This piece is not in a conventional concerto form or style, nor does the title, “Directions”, refer to the outward directions that people take when going from place to place. It is a piece about the development of the human being and the directions in which one puts both consciousness and attention as we all grow and mature in our awareness and intended to represent parts of the same person – the tuba soloist being the more conscious, decisive and deliberate part, and the band members the more internal and less integrated parts of the self.
The first movement (Out and About) is the least mature in that respect and almost has a circus-like quality from time to time. Imagine a young child whose awareness and attention are all focused on learning about, manipulating and functioning within the physical world. This has a cheerful, child-like and innocent quality, like a young person bouncing along happily while he or she discovers how many things there are to do and explore within the physical world.
Between the first and second movements there occurs what I would describe as an “internal dialogue”, where tuba talks with the more internal parts of him or herself (the band) and expresses some basic feelings of longing and lack of completeness with his/her life and how he/she feels as a person.
The second movement (In) moves our attention more internally into the realm of emotion, somewhat like an adolescent who has discovered feelings of tenderness and longing, infatuation and even unrequited love. This movement has greater musical and emotional subtlety than the first, but there is still something within it that remains unfulfilled and unsatisfied, so we find ourselves engaging in a similar “internal dialogue” at the beginning of the third movement.
The third movement (Up and Through) finds our subject turning attention and awareness to more spiritual pursuits, and it is at this point that we find bits of thematic material from the first two movements returning and becoming restated, transformed and integrated into a new and more cohesive whole, as the tuba picks up different instruments and different sections to join it in its thematic focus. By about two thirds of the way through this movement, we experience a “breakthrough” into a kind of spiritual exultation where there is a much fuller integration of all the parts of the personality (the tuba soloist and the band) and the tuba solo becomes the leader in a joyful and exuberant dance.
Author assessment:
“Directions” is a three-movement work written for tuba and symphonic band. It was written for Michael Fischer, Barbara York’s first tuba commission, and Marcellus Brown and the Boise State University Symphonic Winds. It follows the journey of a person at various times in their life, almost suggesting the movements go in order of young, adult, and elderly.
As is typical of York, the piece in programmatic with a run time of just 10’. This is a perfect selection to utilize in a recruiting event while partnering with the wind ensemble conductors at your school as it will hold the attention of the general audience member/parent, entice young listeners, and display the full range and ability levels of the tuba. While the piece does have a piano reduction to make it more accessible and playable, a symphonic band is preferable so the textural colors York intended can be utilized.
As the soloist prepares “Directions”, metronome work will be vital to success. York has given strict, numerical tempo markings that will help when joining with a wind band or pianist to piece the work together. The soloist should prepare to focus on intervals throughout the piece as there are some that are unusual and out of the tuba’s typical demands. The third movement poses the most challenge from a musical standpoint. The opening to letter ‘D’ could easily become stagnant. Channeling York’s intent of ‘spiritual pursuits’ will help the soloist imagine and shape this section. Letter ‘D’ to the end presents the challenge of endurance because of range. York wrote three high ‘Gs’ in a melodic passage and a fourth for the very last note. She does give the soloist the option of playing the lower G, but it takes away from the prestige and magic this section provides.
Recordings:
AJ Beu
I. Out and About
II. In
III. Up and Through
