#27 Suggested Repertoire from Around the World for Developing Bands

This 27th installment of suggested repertoire is proposed by Military Expert 6 Philip Tng, Senior Director of Music of the Singapore Armed Forces Band. ME6 Tng is active in many musical activities both in Singapore and internationally; adjudicating music competitions and festivals, as conductor of the SAF Band and West Winds, and serves as a Board Member of the Wind Bands Association of Singapore Executive Committee.

Grade 3.5

Overture No.1 for Wind Band (2008) – 4’30’’

Overture No. 2 for Wind Band (2008) – 4’00’’

Purchase at Retsel Mil Publications

Kelly Tang (Singapore)

When I was first asked by Sami Ruusuvuori to write for “Suggested Repertoire from Around the World for Developing Bands series” on the WASBE website, I readily agreed! The reason simply being that while a lot of wind band music can be found on the internet, there is just too much music to listen through to find the right one. Suggestions from conductors who have hands-on experience with the music will be a much quicker way to find that suitable gem!

Originally commissioned by the Co-Curricular Activities Branch of the Ministry of Education for the Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) 2009 Central Judging of Concert Bands for 172 school bands, these two pieces, Overture No.1 for Wind Band and Overture No.2 for Wind Band, were written for Secondary School Bands of age 13-16 and Junior College Bands of age 17-19 respectively. This year, these two pieces were used as the Set pieces again for the SYF 2025 Central Judging of Concert Bands for 142 school bands.

I first came across Overture No.1 for Wind Band in 2010 after I returned from my studies in the USA. Performing the piece with West Winds, a community band from Bukit Batok Community Club for a band convention in Singapore, I enjoyed its musical charm and artistic values that allow the conductor and musicians to have the space for individual interpretation while rehearsing it. Written in the common form of A-B-A (fast-slow-fast), developing bands will be quick to understand its form and catchy melodic theme. What the musicians would be required to work on are the tonal sound and intonation, phrasing and musical expression, and developing a considerable technical skill to play it in a musical style.

For Overture No.2 for Wind Band, I got to revisit this piece as an adjudicator of the SYF 2025 Central Judging of Concert Bands. Compared to Overture No.1, this piece requires greater technical skills, especially in the exposed sections where technical skills are required to execute the fast and agile lines, while keeping them sounding synchronised in both vertical and horizontal manner during the contrapuntally syncopated passages.

When DR Kelly Tang was asked what both pieces are supposed to convey in an interview in 2010, this was his reply:

It was revealing that the key question on the minds of most people was, “What images or stories do these set works convey?” Two Overtures for Wind Band’ provides students another way of hearing and playing music.

The set works do not depend on any extra-musical images or narratives for their meaning. Their meaning lies solely in the music. Simply put, all that the two overtures convey are themselves.

What propels both overtures is the contrapuntal interactions between the various lines. Such counterpoint generates harmonic tensions which energize the music and controls its momentum. Supported by the harmony are the melodic materials, interwoven into the harmonic tapestry.

Each of the overtures is based on a handful of main thematic motifs or ideas. Dramatic momentum is generated by the rhythmic, registral, dynamic and textural transformations which these few themes are subjected to. The themes are like characters in a story that undergo personal metamorphoses in response to changing circumstances.

Rather than a patchwork of individually conceived modules, the overtures aim at a totally integrated tapestry in which the function of the tiniest element is integrated organically within the over-arching purpose of the whole work. Each new passage grows out of the previous passage in a natural and logical fashion.

What I hope the two overtures demonstrate is that music can offer exciting meanings in and of itself. Music does not always have to be relegated to an accompanying role as a soundtrack to an image, event or narrative.

Grade 3.5

City of Dreams (2016) – 12’35”

Purchase at Tierolff

Benjamin Yeo (Singapore)

The third piece from Singapore is written by a good friend of mine, Benjamin Yeo. A sought-after composer and conductor, Benjamin largely writes commissioned works and remains an active clinician and conductor with both local and overseas invitations.

When I asked Benjamin which one of his pieces does he want to recommend to this forum, he suggested two pieces, Chopsuey (Clarinet Solo & Band) and City of Dreams. I chose the latter piece because it is written with a deeply rooted meaning to the Singapore’s band history and developing bands from other countries would be able to learn not just the music, but also the composition ideas placed into the piece.

City Of Dreams (A Symphonic Suite for Wind Orchestra) is commissioned by the Band Director’s Association (Singapore) for its 20th Anniversary celebration concert. This three-movement work aims to symbolise and celebrate the on-going vibrant Singapore band scene; and at the same time not forgetting our past, our history.

I. Fanfare ‘Awakening of Dawn’

The fanfare begins with the motivic idea from the opening of the late Singaporean composer, Mr Leong Yoon Pin’s ‘Daybreak and Sunrise’, Singapore’s first commissioned Singapore Youth Festival Indoor Band Central Judging 1992 set piece. An important milestone work in Singapore’s band history, the motif is used as the main melodic material for this opening movement to signify the start of our Singaporean dreams.

II. Intermezzo ‘Remembrance’

The Intermezzo is written in remembrance of Singapore’s founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew who initiated the ‘Band Project’ in 1966 for both Primary and Secondary Schools. This movement opens with sounds of the rain when Singapore had its first National Day Parade in 1966. The familiar opening phrase of our National Anthem ‘Majulah Singapura’ is heard in chorale-style before a solo trumpet introduces the main theme of the movement using the first four notes of the anthem. An off-stage bugler (trumpet) plays a fragment of the ‘Last Post’, paying tribute to the life of the late Mr Lee. The composition then develops further with a lyrical ballad by a solo euphonium, an instrument played by our Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong when he was in the Catholic High School band. This act as a symbolic musical gesture representing our Prime Minister’s continued role of leading the nation forward even after the passing of the late Mr Lee. As the movement progresses to the end, a motif from the Malaysia’s anthem is heard which is immediately followed by the familiar ‘Majulah Singapura’ fanfare, reminding us of our separation with Malaysia in 1965. The ‘Majulah’ chorale returns and is followed by 5 strikes on the tubular bells representing our 50 years of independence, before the off-stage bugler plays the opening of the ‘Rouse’, an important symbolic ‘call back to duties’ usually played in military funeral/remembrance services after the ‘Last Post’. The sound of the rain returns, this time reminding us of the day the nation sent the late Mr Lee off on his final journey. The movement finally closes with three notes on the tubular bells, ‘B-D-A’ signing off this tribute by the Band Directors’ Association (BDA).

III. March ‘Riding That Rainbow’

A distant approaching drumbeat is heard emerging from the closure of the tribute from the previous movement – the onward march of our nation. Snippets of familiar motives are heard throughout the march highlighting parts of our Singapore band story. This march aims show our vibrant and energetic band scene as we look towards a promising future!

Grade 4

Sinfonia Antiqua (2017) – 21’00”

Purchase at Star Music Publishing

Thorsten Wollmann (Germany)

The fourth piece that I would like to recommend is a piece by Thorsten Wollmann, a German composer who lives in Thailand. Thorsten compose and arrange for orchestra, wind band, big band, choir, jazz ensemble and write chamber music, tangos and film scores. I got to know this wind band piece through Star Music Publishing and Thorsten and his family also flew to Singapore to attend the Singapore premiere of his piece in 2018.

Sinfonia Antiqua is a four-movement work for symphonic band. It is a new work written in older styles using forms of baroque dances such as Chaconne and Pavane; yet incorporating classical symphony movements of a Scherzo and Rondo. As the composer had described, “the music is very fresh in spirit, full of energy and enjoys lots of freedom harmonically. Written for mostly wind instruments and percussion, all four movements are in minor or major keys with five flats, Bb minor or Db major. These more unusual keys or tonal centers produce a very dark but beautiful sound, especially when played by wind instruments which are tuned in flat keys mostly”. The stylistic forms and key changes will allow developing bands to learn about the various musical forms, scales involving more flats and accidentals, and how to tune in these keys.

The four movements are:

I. Chaconne

II. Scherzo

III. Pavane

IV. Rondo

The Chaconne is a variation form based on a series of harmonies, mostly dark sounding and solemn as the figuration becomes denser with the development. It then transits into the Scherzo which is lively and gives a sense of hope. This is interrupted by a very dissonant, biting Trio in the middle section that is inspired by Bruckner. The lively passage returns shortly after to end the Scherzo. The Pavane is probably the movement I like best, for its beautiful and poignant melodic line, that sort of reminded me of Ravel’s “Pavane for a Dead Princess”. The Rondo uses the famous baroque form of a fugue at the opening. It continues into the different stylistic variations as the main theme varies, even recapitulating the rhythmic pattern in the biting Trio of the Scherzo. The music culminates into an ostinato towards a celebratory ending with chimes, only to be surprised by a diminishing sound towards a soft ending.