Higher Ground
by Dan Goeller
Score - Sheet Music

Wind Ensemble

SKU: IG.WES151-S

Composed by Dan Goeller. Arranged by Frederick Umar. Score. Imagine Music Publishing #WES151-S. Published by Imagine Music Publishing (IG.WES151-S).

9 x 12 in inches.

In accepting this commission, my thoughts were to create a work that incorporated the rich history of Chautauqua and its pure, innocent, rural
Americana experience. Seeing its heritage was grounded in a nondenominational understanding of God, which incorporated both secular and
spiritual experience, it seemed fitting to arrange a work that bound these two ideals into one work. The arrangement opens with a stately expression
of valor, dignity, and innocence lost - developing gently through a series of tonal and textural adaptations of the hymn tune until it finds a stately tutti
expression for the ensemble. But the end is delayed by the arrival of a false cadence at rehearsal D, which embraces a 'river dance' with a variety of
percussive features. The idea here is one of 'beauty from ashes' and 'joy coming in the new mornings dew.' The reeds are now used to express the
bagpipe above the thrusts of the percussion. Soon, the hymn tune is heard again, supported by the rhythmic dance in reeds, brass, and percussion -
now filled with the joy of community participation. Each counter-melodic line is somewhat of a statement now - and, must be heard in its
uniqueness. It is as if the birds have begun to sing again, each in their own language, of the wonderment surrounding the new day. Hope has once
again sprung upon the community through music.
Take your time through the reminiscent, Americana moments, and enjoy the dance thoroughly!