Hansel und Gretel

Abstract

Hansel und Gretel, a symphonic poem for wind ensemble, is an original musical composition based on the innovations of the symphonic poem genre. This work is written for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets (in B-flat), bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, two alto saxophones, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, three trumpets, four horns, two trombones, bass trombone, euphonium, tuba, double bass, timpani, crash cymbals, suspended cymbal, snare drum, bass drum, and large gong. It is divided into four movements. The form is very similar to the Romantic Era symphony, consisting of an Introduction–Allegro, Adagio, Scherzando, and Finale. Due to the flexibility of the wind ensemble genre as having a primarily educational instrumentation, parts such as flute, clarinet, euphonium, and tuba can be doubled. The work is semi-programmatic, following the adaptation of the narrative of “Hansel and Gretel” as a traditional fairy tale published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812 in Grimms' Fairy Tales. The composition features elements of absolute music, in that there are no strict leitmotifs nor other explicit mentions of characters, programmatic development of character themes, or literal-musical verbosity, such as a guillotine in Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. All themes are original and do not intentionally quote other works, though moments of musical parody pervade the work (e.g., Dies irae in movement two, Stravinsky's Danse sacrale (L'Élue) from Le Sacre du printemps in movement three). All examples provided in the appendix are given in transposed pitch (unless otherwise indicated).