Phantom Miners

Description

Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet in Bb, Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Trumpet in Bb, Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Bb Euphonium, Tuba, Mallets, Bells, Percussion 1, Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Gong, Flexatone, Ratchet, Percussion 2, Suspended Cymbal, Slap Stick, Brake Drum, Whistle — Who doesn’t love a good ghost story? I sure do, especially when it is set in the Wild West!The southwestern U.S. is dotted with ghost towns. In the nineteenth century, with America’s expansion reaching ever westward, prospectors became interested in finding gold and silver in order to become wealthy. When a good vein of gold or silver ore was discovered, they would open a mine. A town would form around it, and train lines were built to ship the precious metals abroad. However, when the mine was depleted, the boomtown would go bust and be abandoned. The buildings would decay with time, leaving ruins of what once was there. You can hike through the desert into many ghost towns and see what is left of buildings, tools and other artifacts, graveyards, and even mineshafts.Mining back then, as it is now, was dangerous work. Many people lost their lives in mining accidents. What happens to the souls left behind when the town goes bust, the graveyards lie neglected, and the buildings decay? The Phantom Miners imagines what those ghosts might be like, and how desperate they are to continue their work extracting precious metals from the ground.Performance notesSome musical highlights include:1) The sounds of the auxiliary instruments in the percussion section and an exciting and dynamic low brass/woodwind feature at m. 19. 2) The winds using percussive techniques and a blood-chilling scream at m. 27. 3) The music also features an aleatoric element; the students pick a note at mm. 26 and 42 to create dissonant musical cries.Musical concepts covered include:1) Dynamic contrast including p, mf, and f.2) Use of auxiliary percussion instruments (slapstick, anvil/brake drum, vibraslap, flexatone, gong or optional water gong, ratchet, and whistle). 3) Always having a pencil in rehearsal! 4) Subito dynamic markings in the low brass/woodwind feature at m. 19. 5) The repeat signs at mm. 43 and 51. 6) Balance between the power chords in the bass line, the melody, and the countermelody at mm. 11 and 43.If need be, some of the auxiliary percussion parts can be removed or substituted for other instruments. A water gong is a small gong that is struck, and then dipped in a container of water to change the pitch and timbre. A storage bin can be used as the water container. Phantom Miners takes the listener to the ghost towns of the American Southwest, where abandoned mining towns echo with the sounds of long-dead miners still toiling in the earth. The piece is full of eerie, atmospheric sounds, with auxiliary percussion creating chilling effects to mimic ghostly activities. The dramatic shifts between harsh and delicate sounds reflect the desperation of the spirits who refuse to leave their work unfinished. Careful attention to dynamics and timing will help convey the unsettling, spectral world of the Phantom Miners.

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