Frank Ticheli has a new work out entitled “Acadiana.” It is classic Ticheli. What I mean by this is that Ticheli is known for using his sense of swing time, jazzy riffs in the clarinets and upper woodwinds. The flow of the jazz-inspired sounds go to the brass and the lower instruments. This piece (I believe) may be inspired by Ticheli’s intense love for jazz that was sparked from an early age.
The tapping of the Jazz rhythms in the background really accentuate this further. If you’re looking for another band work for your concert band or wind ensemble, this may be the perfect one for you. It’s not that hard in style or execution. It is rather straight-forward and demonstrative. The work is a fabulous reflection of the swing era. You can get a sense of Glenn Miller and many other artists that dominated the jazz landscape. This is great for beginning musicians who don't have a knowledge of musical history. This piece gives them something to look up to and look forward to. Like most of Tichel’s work, the piece comprises of a simple jazz section followed by a more illustrious section where the whole band breaks out in style. It sure makes me miss band, Even though I was never in band begin with. It inspires the composer within everybody to start writing music like this. There is even a salsa break mid piece. The trumpets take charge and that one by having a high melody.
I love the way the world goes from one thing to the next, from section to section, featuring so many different meter changes and time changes. It’s quite dizzying to keep up with it. The counter melody in the clarinets is fabulous. The horns do this dazzling, long slides that last for about a measure and a half each or longer. It sounds like a siren or sirens being whirled late at night. Soon the fun jazz and salsa-like textures culminate into this dissonant, dismal change. Hold the B-flat at the end of the section and the piece takes a completely different turn a sad or somber E-flat movement. The sad times don’t last for long as a B-flat “cheery” section takes over. Back to the festive sounding music! I love the B-flat (?) baritone saxophone entrance and various brass entrances that follow.
The Met winds recording on Youtube is the one being referenced. By the sights and sounds heard here, this ensemble is phenomenal! Well done to Frank Ticheli for composing yet another gem. This is a fun piece that any band could work up to playing.
