The Suggested Repertoire from Around the World for Developing Bands series is a new WASBE program of instructional materials to assist music directors in identifying exceptional works from around the world that are playable by developing musicians.  Each of the selections in this series provides a myriad of musical elements that might be explored and developed within the rehearsal context, but the goal is to present music of artistic merit that aligns most directly to the composer’s unique voice.  These are selections that stand out from works written largely for teaching purposes.

Our installments include four-five such works, each to be contributed by WASBE members from throughout the world.  The offerings include exceptional and diverse works from around the world. Some of the selections will be well known while others will be quite unfamiliar to most – and there will be more than a few older compositions that we hope will be revisited, reacquainted, or discovered anew.

This tenth installment is proposed by WASBE member and former board official Joseph Cheung (China/Hong Kong)

Grade 2.5
Golden Snake Dance (2018) – 3’- JC Link
NIE Er / LI Chan (China)
video with score: https://youtu.be/GtCoHUpoFcc

The original author Nie Er initially finalized “Golden Snake Dance” as a chinese instrumental music piece based on “Reverse Eight Plates” (the variation from “old six plates”) in his hometown’s Kunqu opera, this song vividly portrays the bustling scene of the Jiangnan region in China. Composer Li Chan re-arranged this excellent piece for wind band, weaving multiple motives in the original melody into a bright and lively interweaving, with a more compact and lively mood. The interaction between wind brass instruments is active, and the dialogue between the upper and lower voice echoes frequently, making the entire music performance more infectious. The music feel faster and faster, presenting a tense and joyful scene of chasing after each other.

 

Grade 2
Madrigal (2017) – 2’55” – JC Link
CHEN Qian (China)
video with score: https://youtu.be/DTcxTgWAbvQ


This is a “long tune” (pronounced as”Urtinduo”in Mongolian, meaning long song) a traditional music popular in the eastern part of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, “Long Tune” folk songs have a unique singing form with distinct nomadic and regional cultural characteristics. The lyrics depict a typical picture of grassland grazing with concise and vivid strokes. The soothing melody is broad and extend, with a relaxed and free rhythm.

This piece adopts the chinese pentatonic “Gong mode”, which is a single segment structure composed of upper and lower voice dialogue. Upper voice melodious and elegant, with a high and broad range; Lower voice with gentle tone reply, they circling up and down around the tune in Fifth. The entire song vividly displays the beautiful and magnificent scenery of the grassland pastoral area, expressing the sincere admiration of the grassland herdsmen for their hometown.

It is a traditional music of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and is known as the” living fossil of grassland music. ”

 

Grade 3
Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon (2012) – 3’30” – JC Link
YAU Yurn-hing, Simon (China/Hong Kong)
video with score: https://youtu.be/Jmr8xgqWIV4


The melody of ‘Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon’ is written in Chinese pentatonic scale, simple with smooth lines and beautiful lyrics. Music start leisurely with a relaxed and measured rhythm, exuding a calm vitality in peace. The scattered sounds of wood block and suspend cymbals further highlight the vastness and mystery of the night. In the second part, there is no obvious contrasting color, and the melody is clearly an extension of the first part’s lyricism, without conflicts, only harmonious warm feel, let listener to imagine developing freely and naturally. The most dynamic part should be the third part, where the responsive dialogue between instruments is like the frolicking of clouds and moons, moving up and down, back and forth, with a vivid and interesting atmosphere.

 

Grade 3.5
Half Moon Rising (2017) – 3’45” – JC Link
CHEN Qian (China)
video with score: https://youtu.be/pO6b3sLPLkg


An unaccompanied choral music created based on folk tones in the china northwest region (Xinqiang-Uyghur ethnic), with beautiful melody and profound artistic conception. The song portrays the love life of young people, with Uyghur people’s charateristic are good at singing and dancing life. Composer use reed instruments imitate the choral sound, start with smooth and full of the peaceful atmosphere of the night it seems that in the warm night, young people are fully enjoying the joy of love. Dancing rhythm on a phrygian mode, with group of youth in the party to dance and sing, the climax of the entire song is briefly imitated the voice of boys and girls calling in echoing, giving a more joyful feeling until the end of the piece.