Roaring Fork

Roaring Fork
Composed by Eric Ewazen
For Wind Quintet
Published by Southern Music Co.
Includes score and parts

Instrumentation: Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, Horn in F, and Bassoon

Contents:
I.   Whitewater Rapids (Maroon Creek)
II.  Columbines (Snowmass Lake)
III. At the Summit (Buckskin Pass)

Program Note:
      Roaring Fork Quintet for Wind Instruments was commissioned by and is dedicated to the Borealis Wind Quintet, who premiered the work during their tour of the United States in the winter of 1993-94. The valley of the Roaring Fork River in Colorado is home to some of the most spectacular scenery in the Rocky Mountains. The first movement, “Whitewater Rapids (Maroon Creek)”, with bright, high melodic lines, ever-changing colors and rhythmic energy, depicts the lush, rich sounds of the Maroon Creek's flowing rapids. The second movement, “Columbines (Snowmass Lake)”, evokes the serenity of Snowmass Lake, a glacial lake ringed by peaks of 13,000 feet and surrounded by delicate and fragile white columbines; it is a scene at once awesome and intimate, the music alternately gentle and expansive. The final movement, “At the Summit (Buckskin Pass)” portrays the sense of exhilaration, excitement and quiet amazement one experiences at the top of Buckskin Pass, with its arduous ascent and 360 degree view of mountain ranges, lakes, streams, and dark green valleys.
– Eric Ewazen