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Title	Year of the Dragon, The
Article no.	9805020
Category	Concert/wind/brass band
Subcategory	Suite
Instrumentation	Ha (concert/wind band); CB (Concert Band)
Format	PrtStm (full score and parts)
Country of publication	United Kingdom (uk)
Publisher *	click here
Publisher's article no. *	click here
Series title	Prestige Series
Price	click here
Composer	Sparke, Philip
Difficulty level	4
Evaluation level of countries	C5 (Swiss highest class); D6 (German highest class)
Duration	13:10
Additional info/contents	The 2017 version of The Year of the Dragon was commissioned by the Siena Wind Orchestra and given its world premiere on June 17th 2017 in Bunkyo Civic Hall, Tokyo, conducted by the composer. The original wind band arrangement of The Year of the Dragon was made in 1985, a year after the composer wrote the brass band version. At that time he was still learning the intricacies of writing for wind band (and still is!) and in the 32 years which have elapsed since then, his approach to scoring for the medium has developed and, hopefully, improved. Here are the main differences between the two versions: In the 1980's, the wind band movement was much less international than it is now. British wind bands were still to some extent based on the military band tradition of the time, which tended to use rather smaller instrumentation than the then-dominant American university model. The new version embraces a much more international instrumentation, including low woodwinds and string bass, as well as an expanded percussion section. In the original version there was a touch of naivety in the way the composer wrote for the woodwinds; much of their articulation was transferred too literally from the brass version, resulting in some unidiomatic writing, which he has tried to improve in the new version. In addition to the above, Philip's own compositional style has matured and developed in the intervening 32 years. There are some passages in the original which he simply would not write today – not because they are ’wrong’, but because his way of writing has changed. The new version is perhaps how he would have written it today, rather than simply dressing the original version in new clothes. The work is in three movements: Toccata opens with an arresting side drum figure and snatches of themes from various sections of the band, which try to develop until a broad and powerful theme from the middle of the band asserts itself. A central dance-like section soon gives way to the return of this theme, which subsides until faint echoes of the opening material fade to a close. Interlude takes the form of a sad and languid solo for alto saxophone. A chorale for the whole band introduces a brief spell of optimism but the saxophone solo returns to close the movement quietly. Finale is a real tour-de-force for the band, with a stream of rapid semi-quavers running throughout the movement. The main theme is heroic and march-like, but this is interspersed with lighter, more playful episodes. A distant fanfare to the sound of bells is introduced, and this eventually returns to bring the work to a stirring close.

No.	Track title	Duration	Sound sample
1	Toccata	3:10
2	Interlude	5:50
3	Finale	4:20

Sample sheet music	click here
Sound sample *	click here
Video sample *	click here
Listen to this in the Musicainfo Radio *	click here
Available	yes
ergänzender Text *	click here

	Format
	Year of the Dragon, The (concert/wind band; Concert Band), full score and parts
	Year of the Dragon, The (concert/wind band; Concert Band), full score
	Auftakt zum Landesmusikfest 2004 - Musik ist grenzenlos (Brucknerhaus Linz), DVD
	Concert Edition #2, audio CD
	Favorite Past Albums #2: The Year of the Dragon, audio CD
	Festival of Music 1988, audio CD
	Great British Music for Wind Band #9: The Year of the Dragon, audio CD
	Highlights 1992 European Brass Band Championships, audio CD
	Olympica, audio CD

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