Eric Ewazen is an American composer and teacher. Ewazen studied composition under Samuel Adler, Milton Babbitt, Gunther Schuller, Joseph Schwantner, Warren Benson, and Eugene Kurtz at the Eastman School of Music and The Juilliard School Eric Ewazen (b. 1954, Cleveland, Ohio) ' onMouseout='HidePop("24675")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Piccolo">piccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
, opens with a four-note motive (B-C#-G#-B) which will reappear later in the work in different guises; the second theme appears in the strings. After the trill by the piccolo, the descending notes that follow reflect the call of the canyon wren, a widespread but not frequently seen songbird common in the canyon country and desert southwest.
- The Painted Desert is a watercolor of impressive delicacy and subtlety. Grofé manages to suggest the presence of some ageless, unchanging life still present in the arid and apparently lifeless desert, in the brilliant, sometimes startling colors of the rock formations, the geologic artwork of prehistory
Prehistory is a term used to describe the period before recorded history. Paul Tournal originally coined the term Pré-historique in describing the finds he had made in the caves of southern France...
. Ingenious usage of chords and orchestral tone abound.
- On the Trail is the best-known of the movements of the Grand Canyon Suite, the aural report of the day riding on the back of a pack donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family, and an odd-toed ungulate. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E. africanus. Traditionally, the scientific name for the donkey is Equus asinus asinus based on the principle of...
(imitating its clip-clop), beginning and ending with a great "hee-haw". A violinThe violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
cadenzaIn music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....
is used to wonderful effect. The principal theme of this movement, which is presented by the horns, and later, tromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, serves as the central motif of the suite.
- Sunset is a nostalgic and pleasantly sentimental rendering of the most glorious of Grand Canyon moments, when the sky is alive with vibrant colors above the deepening shadows in the great gorge.
- Cloudburst opens with a sleepy recollection of the theme from "On the Trail" in the upper strings. Then we enter a summation, a kind of panoramic view of the vastness of this West
The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
ern scene, with brief references to other themes in the work. On to this scene suddenly come dark, scudding clouds and a rising wind. A lone celloThe cello is a bowed string instrument. The word derives from the Italian violoncello. A person who plays a cello is called a cellist. The cello is used as a solo instrument, in chamber music, and as a member of the string section of an orchestra...
solo suggests a mood of apprehension. The evening air is filled with fine sand and bits of tumbleweed, in the form of eerie slow violin glissandi. The storm breaks, with lightning, thunder and pelting rain. Then even more quickly, it is gone, with a last crash of lightning and peal of thunder. The moon emerges from behind the clouds and the earth rejoices in refreshed pleasure in a climactic rousing finish.
Influence
The
Grand Canyon Suite is featured in the Grand Canyon Diorama on the
Disneyland RailroadThe Disneyland Railroad , originally the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, is a narrow gauge railroad at Disneyland, Anaheim, California, United States, that was inaugurated on the park's opening day, July 17, 1955. This live steam railway was constructed for $240,000; each of the original four...
.
Grand CanyonGrand Canyon is a 1958 short film directed by James Algar and produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was shown as a supplemental on Sleeping Beauty's initial run, and it won an Academy Award in 1959 for Best Short Subject...
is a
1958The year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date...
shortShort film is a technical description originally coined in the Indian Film Industry and used in the North American film industry in the early period of cinema. The description is now used almost interchangeably with short subject...
Walt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist. Disney is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century. As the co-founder Walter Elias...
film in
CinemaScopeCinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used from 1953 to 1967 for shooting widescreen movies created by the president of 20th Century Fox from 1953, and marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection...
format directed by
James AlgarJames Algar was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer.He was born in Modesto, California and died in Carmel, California.-Selected filmography:* The Gnome-Mobile...
. It features color film footage of the Grand Canyon accompanied by three movements from the
Grand Canyon Suite. In the manner of
FantasiaFantasia is a American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and the third film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. Fantasia features animation set to classical music and no dialogue—only spoken introductions by the host, American composer and music critic Deems Taylor, before segments...
, there is no story and no dialogue. The film won an Academy Award in
1959The telecast of the 31st Academy Awards is among the most infamous. The show’s producer Jerry Wald started cutting numbers from the show to make sure it ran on time. Unfortunately, he cut too much material and the ceremony ended 20 minutes early, leaving Jerry Lewis to attempt to fill in the time...
for
Best Short SubjectThis name for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film was introduced in 1974. For the three preceding years it was known as "Short Subjects, Live Action Films." The term "Short Subjects, Live Action Subjects" was used from 1957 until 1970. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate...
.
The third movement of the suite also features in the 1983 film
A Christmas StoryA Christmas Story is a 1983 American/Canadian comedy film based on the short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes of author and raconteur Jean Shepherd, including material from his books In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories. It was directed by Bob Clark...
.
"On the Trail" was used for many years as the "musical signature" for radio (and later television) programs sponsored by
Philip MorrisPhilip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and Saratoga.On January 27,...
cigarettes (beginning with their 1933 radio program featuring Ferde Grofe and his orchestra).
Jon HendricksJon Hendricks is an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is considered one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists...
wrote lyrics for "On the Trail" and the song was recorded for Hendricks' album
To Tell the Truth (1975).
Discography
Arturo ToscaniniArturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th Centuries, he was renowned for his brilliant intensity, his restless perfectionism, his phenomenal ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
and the NBC Symphony recorded a
version of the work.
The
Paul WhitemanPaul Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and he was dubbed the "King of Jazz." In 1924, Whiteman commissioned and debuted George Gershwin's...
Orchestra's 'Original artist' recording is available on the CD 'Gershwin & Grofé'.
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1033746&BAB=E
A
surround soundSurround sound encompases a range of techniques for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. The three-dimensional sphere of human hearing can be virtually achieved with audio channels above and below the listener...
recording of the full orchestral version is available on the Audio-DVD 'American Classics - Grofé: Grand Canyon Suite'.
http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/3116784/a/American+Classics+-+Grof%E9:+Grand+Canyon+Suite.htm
There is a CD of 3 of Grofé's suites (
Mississippi,
Grand Canyon, and
Niagara Falls) performed by the
Bournemouth Symphony OrchestraThe Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is an English orchestra. Originally based in Bournemouth, the BSO moved its offices to the adjacent town of Poole in 1979....
:
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1043778.
An SA-CD by the
New York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
conducted by
Leonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
titled 'Bernstein Gershwin etc.' includes
The Grand Canyon Suite:
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1783400.
In 1982,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese
electronic musicElectronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
ian
Isao Tomitais a renowned Japanese electronic music composer.-Biography:Tomita was born in Tokyo and spent his early childhood with his father in China. After returning to Japan, he took private lessons in orchestration and composition while an art history student at Keio University, Tokyo. He graduated in...
recorded an electronic version on his
Grand Canyon album:
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=6776374&BAB=E.
Columbia Released a "Masterworks" of the Grand Canyon Suite performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy. Catalog Number ML5286. Library of Congress catalog card R58-1077
A recording of the suite coupled with the Porgy and Bess Symphonic themes by Antal Dorati and the Detroit Symphony is on Decca.
Oscar PetersonOscar Emmanuel Peterson, CC, CQ, O.Ont. was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends, and was a member of jazz royalty. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards...
recorded a swing version with his trio on the album Great Connection.
In Popular Music
RefugeeRefugee was a progressive rock group formed by former The Nice members, bassist Lee Jackson and drummer Brian Davison, with keyboardist Patrick Moraz.After The Nice, Jackson had formed Jackson Heights, with Davison later becoming involved in the project too...
did a progressive rock cover of the Grand Canyon Suite on their
eponymous albumRefugee was the self-titled and only album of Refugee. The album was originally issued on Charisma Records in March 1974. It was re-released under the TimeWave label on June 27, 2006.-Track listing:#"Papillion" – 5:10#"Someday" – 5:07...
.
External links