Symphony No. 2 – Epitaphs Unwritten was recorded in spring 2013 by the North Texas Wind Symphony under the direction of Eugene Migliaro Corporon for the GIA WindWorks Series (GIA CD-934). The audio recording is entitled Reconstructions. For information concerning the purchase of this recording please visit the RECONSTRUCTIONS website.
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Keveli Music Band Publication
Symphony No. 2 – Epitaphs Unwritten
for
Large Wind Ensemble
byKevin M. Walczyk
Grade 6 | Duration: 38'00"
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Nominated for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in Music, the 2012 Grawemeyer Award in music composition and winner of the 2011 National Band Association's William D. Revelli Memorial Composition Contest, Symphony No. 2 - "Epitaphs Unwritten" is a monumental work dedicated to the protagonists of freedom who, through sacrifice, suffering, and alacrity to the devotion of their cause, unconditionally liberate those unwillingly subjugated to degradation. Commissioned by a consortium of 18 university and conservatory wind symphonies, Epitaphs Unwritten was inspired by the words penned by an American soldier on a peace marker in the small village of Foy, Belgium near Bastogne. The peace marker silently stands watch over a tranquil field that once served as a temporary burial site for American soldiers during the "battle of the bulge". Private David J. Phillips (G Co, 3rd BN, 506th PIR/101st Airborne Division) wrote:
"We have only died in vain if you believe so; you have to decide the wisdom of our choice, by the world which you shall build upon our headstones; and the everlasting truth, which have your voice. Though dead, we are not heroes yet, nor can be, 'til the living by their lives which are the tools, carve us the epitaph of wise men, and give us not the epitaph of fools."
The words of the first half of the Foy peace marker are systematically converted to pitches and (musically) 'spoken' in the work's second movement, entitled Lament. Using a similar conversion process, the words that form the second half of the Foy peace marker are 'spoken' in the work's finale, entitled Grand March Eternal. The author's prose speaks to the "wisdom" of their 'choice', referencing an event marked by great suffering and sacrifice, with a plea that future generations would learn from this event, "carve" them the "epitaph of wise men", and "build upon" their "headstones...the everlasting truth". The work's first movement, entitled Echoes of Sacrifice, pays homage to this referenced event - a conflagration of great suffering and sacrifice, while serving as a point of reference for the author's prose that is musically represented, in its entirety, in the final two movements. Epitaphs "Unwritten" affirms a great responsibility on the living, whose epitaphs have yet to be written, by bearing witness to those heroes, past and present, in a manner that ardently perpetuates the everlasting truth, thus creating future heroes and gaining us the epitaph of wise men.
North Texas Wind Symphony, Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor
Please allow time for this audio file to load when selecting either the 2nd or 3rd movements first:
2. Lament
3. Grand March Eternal
Audio
Accolades
Symphony No. 2 – Epitaphs Unwritten, was awarded the 2011 William D. Revelli Memorial Composition Contest Prize by the National Band Association. The world premiere was performed by the University of Oklahoma Wind Symphony under the direction of William K. Wakefield on April 22, 2010. The consortium premiere was performed by the Indiana University Wind Ensemble under the direction of Stephen Pratt, and the Japanese premiere was given by the Musashino Academia Musicae under the direction of Ray E. Cramer. The work was also accepted by the nomination committees for both the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in Music (by an American composer) and the 2012 Grawemeyer Award (for best composition worldwide).
Keveli Music has long been dedicated to forming consortium commissioning projects in order to give performing organizations the opportunity to participate in the commissioning process without paying large commissioning fees. This is accomplished by asking multiple members of a consortium to share the commissioning fee. Keveli Music acknowledges Dr. Danh Pham, who served as the consortium coordinator, and the following band programs and their directors for participating in the consortium commissioning process that brought Symphony No. 2 – Epitaphs Unwritten to life:
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA Wind Symphony
Lead Consortium Member
William K. Wakefield, Director
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Wind Ensemble
Eric Wilson, Director
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY Symphonic Wind Symphony
Jack Williamson & James Batcheller, Directors
EMORY UNIVERSITY Wind Ensemble
Scott Stewart, Director
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY Wind Orchestra
Richard Clary, Director
INDIANA UNIVERSITY Wind Ensemble
Stephen Pratt, Director
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Wind Symphony
Kevin Sedatole, Director
MUSASHINO ACADEMIA MUSICAE Wind Ensemble
Ray E. Cramer, Director
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY Wind Ensemble
Sarah McKoin, Director
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Wind Ensemble
Paul W. Popiel, Director
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY Wind Ensemble
John Cody Birdwell, Director
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI, KANSAS CITY CONSERVATORY Wind Symphony
Steven Davis, Director
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA, LINCOLN Wind Ensemble
Carolyn Butler, Director
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, GREENSBORO Wind Ensemble
John Locke & Kevin Giraldi, Directors
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON Wind Ensemble
Bob Ponto, Director
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI Wind Ensemble
Thomas Fraschillo, Director
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AUSTIN Wind Ensemble
Jerry Junkin, Director
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON Wind Ensemble
Timothy Salzman, Director
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY Wind Ensemble
Dr. Danh Pham, Director
LARGE WIND ENSEMBLE INSTRUMENTATION
Symphony No. 2 – Epitaphs Unwritten is a grade 6 work. It is challenging to college and professional level wind ensembles.
flutes 1-4 – 2nd doubles alto flute; 3rd doubles piccolo; 4th is piccolo
3 oboes – 3rd doubles English horn
sopranino clarinet
clarinets 1-3 – 3-4 players required on each part
bass clarinet
contrabass clarinet – doubles contra-alto clarinet
alto saxophones 1-2
tenor saxophones 1-2
baritone saxophone
3 bassoons – 3rd doubles contrabassoon
horns 1-6 – 5th and 6th are optional but highly recommended
trumpets 1-6 – 1st doubles piccolo trumpet; 5th and 6th double flugel horn
trombones 1-4 – 4th is bass
euphoniums 1-2 – B.C. & T.C.
tubas 1-2
timpani
percussion 1 – vibraphone (4-octave), xylophone, marimba (shared with perc. 2 and/or 4), suspended cymbal, and brake drum
percussion 2 – chimes, marimba (5-octave), crash cymbals, and orchestral sleigh bells
percussion 3 – 3 gongs, crotales, glockenspiel, sizzle cymbal, suspended cymbal, 2 bongos, and bell tree
percussion 4 – snare drum, crash cymbals, ride cymbal, marimba (5-octave), crotales, and vibraphone
percussion 5 – large bass drum, suspended cymbal, large tam-tam, and 3 suspended triangles
percussion 6 – bell tree, 5 roto-toms/pitched concert toms, brake drum, and field drum
piano & celesta
harp
string bass
EPITAPHS UNWRITTEN is an outstanding composition...
a most significant contribution to the wind ensemble repertoire. It is brilliantly composed with skill, craft and rich musical depth, fully exploring the vivid color palette found within the wind ensemble instrumentation. I consider it to be among the top compositions written for the wind band during the past half century.
