Character Sketches (score & parts) - WW5

Character Sketches

for wind quintet: flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon

by Truman Harris

I. Buskers

A big-city street in lined with fire-eaters, acrobats and caricaturists as we stroll past

II. Monday Morning

After a fun weekend, the workplace looms

III. Wallflower

Out with friends, no one has yet asked her to dance. Suddenly a handsome fellow in uniform appears. Has cavalry come to the rescue? But alas. 

IV. Cheerleaders

Optimism and high energy as the game beings. Wait, the home team is losing? A late opposition error opens a small possibility of victory.

V. Lydian Invaders

The Lydian Church mode, named after the ancient kingdom of Lydia, is basically a major scale with the 4th raised a half step. Flute and bassoon paint a bucolic scene, but forces of F Major soon attack without warning! Disguised as Lydian (with b natural) the intruders show their true colors when their leader, the dreaded "Major Bb" appears.

VI. New Year's Eve

Our protagonist from the third movement is happily waltzing the night away. After a bit, sadder thoughts are insisted on by the bassoon, as is often the case, but they pass quickly away with the cry, "Let's Celebrate!"