Another great composer that I just love now is James Barnes. He has written more scenic band music than any other composer in the current classical music landscape. He did one piece that just captivates my musical taste buds. It is called “The Tragic” or “Tragic.” It is a five movement piece that take you through various shades of sadness as if he has lost something important in his life whether a family member or friend. The piece has four movements with their various high points.
The first movement has a fabulous tuba solo that is expertly composed, seeing to it that Barnes, himself is a tuba player who just happens to compose for concert band. The expert solo is followed by a great chromatic siege and music that sounds as if it is from a tension-building scene of an early Western movie. This is then followed by a great flute solo with muted mid and lower woodwinds in support. A harp makes an appearance to echo off of what the flute is playing. The conquest-style scene of before comes back with the dazzling chimes and harp chromatically whirling to make it have this silvery texture. Hence, this may be where the tragic event happened to signify the being and conception of the piece.
Movement Two starts off with bassoons and other low woodwinds doing this march-like rhythm in a staccato form. Add in the tenor and baritone saxophones and you have a quiet march with an attitude that could possibly be put in an older Western movie. The whole tone and chromatic chords make the Western appeal broader.
Movement Three is possibly a favorite of all the movements presented here. At first listen, it doesn’t appear to echo any of the music of the first two movements and could almost be a stand-alone piece all its own. Then, however, a stirring oboe and English Horn have a melody that gives us a Middle-Eastern harmony almost that almost echoes the whole tone chords of movement two. The whole movement three has the most tragic music in it with the chords lifting back into chords of hope that the tragic events will somehow get resolved for the better. The bright D-flat tonality of the harp, chimes is consistent throughout the movement to maintain the hopefulness of life and that dark hours will become light. It has largely the most crescendos within the movement apart from the whole rest of the piece.
The fourth and final movement comes in with the transformed majestic form that finally takes into the times of light that the tragedy brings life after death and sadness. It certainly is a lot more flashy in color and more bouncy than any of the other movements. It has a ton of energy that really gives you a sense that you have been taken on a fantastic musical journey. It is one symphony for band that I would definitely listen to again and would definitely recommend for those interested in classical music.
