Product Description

Albany Records is proud to release what is a long-overdue memorial to one of the finest American composers of wind ensemble music. Chance was a gifted composer, teacher and administrator who died a tragic death by accidental electrocution at the age of 39. He studied theory and composition with Kent Kennan, Clifton Williams and Paul Pisk. If you are familiar with the “old school” of band music, Chance is as fine a representative as any. His music is brash, exciting, and highly energetic in the way you remember from those works you heard on those great old Mercury recordings with the late Frederick Fennell. Ironically, though such works as the Blue Lake Overture and Variations on a Korean Folk-Song have been in the active band repertory for years, this is the first major commercial release entirely devoted to his music, a “greatest hits” package in fact. Standing out in particular is the Symphony No. 2, perhaps the best work of its kind since the Persichetti Symphony (No. 6) for Band. Based on a four-note motif of C#-D-F-E, the music whips up a remarkable amount of tension and excitement, especially in the last movement. The authoritative performances are under Stephen K. Steele, who began directing the Band Department at Illinois State University in 1987. Under his direction, the Wind Symphony has performed for state and national conventions, including the 1990 American Bandmasters Association and the 1993 and 2001 College Band Directors National Association. Steele and the Wind Symphony can also be heard on two previous releases, TROY500 (music of Persichetti, Syler, Zaninelli and Maslanka) and TROY600 (music of Maslanka and Hagen). Albany has had great success with our catalog of wind music, and we feel this new release, honoring John Barnes Chance, is one of finest.

Track Listing

1. Incantation and Dance
2. Introduction and Capriccio
3. Symhony No. 2
4. Blue Lake Overture
5. Elegy
6. Variations on a Korean Folk Song

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35441 in Music
• Released on: 2005-07-01
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

J.B.Chance deserves better, but it's still worth it
My portal to the world of advanced wind ensemble composition and performance was Chance's Blue Lake. The first recording of this piece that I could find was on this CD, which was similarly exciting as a chance to hear all of his major pieces consecutively. If you want to learn something about the music which set the stage for the current generation of wind ensemble composers, you should get this CD.

That having been said, I wish that a more accomplished group had put out this album. The spirit of these college student musicians is admirable, but their accuracy, especially with respect to rhythm, is not up to the standards of most wind ensembles with substantial recording lists. For example, the rhythmic accuracy of their performance of Blue Lake, which is crucial in this particular piece, is lower than that of the high school wind ensemble in which I performed over 30 years ago and got me hooked on the art form.

Nevertheless, I still recommend this CD, especially to those who have heard one or two works by Chance and would like to hear a collection of his work. Sad as it is to realize that this man died too young, with so much left to offer his students and the world, it is worth celebrating the excitement, the drama, and the exuberance that he produced, along with his contemporaries, and set the stage for the incredible music produced by their creative descendants.

Legacy of John Barnes Chance
A great collection of music that captures a snap shot of a gifted composer. A great addition to any library of band music.