Beer Music: Flight One (score & parts) - WW5

Beer Music: Flight One
for woodwind quintet: flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon
by Brian DuFord - American composer and guitarist

In essence, Beer Music is a musical tasting celebrating our civilization's fondness for this ancient fermented beverage. Commissioned by Black Marigold, its inspiration began with a trip to Madison, Wisconsin to experience the city's thriving beer culture. Over a three-day period, in what would later be dubbed "The Beer Bender Weekend", Black Marigold and the composer toured Madison's vibrant craft brew scene, sampling over 50 beers. To capture each brew's unique character, a special Beer Music Survey was created. It posed questions such as "If this beer were a weather phenomena, what would it be?", "What human personality type characterizes this beer?", and "If this beer were a member of the animal kingdom, which wold it be?". As observations were shared, the realization dawned that the piece needed to be about the individual beers. So, looking over the survey notes, the composer chose beers whose descriptions conjured unique musical thoughts and expressions. As a result, Beer Music encompasses a veritable plethora of styles and genres. The 18 beers culminate in a rousing German style drinking song, Finale: The Beer Baron (Bier ist Hier!), suggestion how a wind quintet might sound if they were imbibing during the gig instead, of after. Cheers!

Flight Two is available here. 

Flight Three is available here. 

Finale: The Beer Baron- Bier ist Hier! is available here