Catching Fireflies (symphonic band version)
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SKU: S0.868593
Composed by Daniel Burwasser. Post-Romantic. Score,Set of Parts. 189 pages. Published by Head and Stem (S0.868593).Sometimes the composer may point us to the meaning of a piece, without actually providing it. Says Daniel Burwasser: “Catching Fireflies is an ode to the tender memories and joys of childhood. The thematic material and structure of the work reflects the immediacy and innocent fascination of a time when everything is new and exciting, and something as simple as the flashing of a firefly can capture the imagination.” The opening indeed creates visions of sprightly fireflies. An animated seven-note figure, first introduced by the strings then taken up by the brass and woodwinds, suggests a dazzling nocturnal scene of children scurrying after the elusive insects. The theme rapidly transmogrifies, aided by echoing dialogues between instruments as well as abrupt percussive effects. At 2:30 a placid lyrical interlude begins with contemplative strains. Have the catchers settled back to view the stars? Like youth itself, the segment doesn’t last and is pushed aside by a subdued version of the lead theme. This time, a lyrical melody pro- vides a whiff of melancholia, but one limned by kaleidoscopic xylophone notes. At 6:00 a longer adagio theme develops, and while it reflects the original lyrical interlude, it soon assumes a nostalgic aura reminiscent of fifties film music. Perhaps it evokes the romantic theme from an old movie the composer attended as a youth. But the night is not over and as the tempo increases, the brass sounds a variation of the opening melody, there is a brief parenthesis of calm, then a crashing tutti puts an end to the evening activities. -Peter Bates
REVIEWS OF CATCHING FIREFLIES
“ It is not often that one hears this kind of technical mastery, especially in the realms of orchestration and compositional structure, from one so young” -- Dr. Philip Springer, composer Los Angeles, California
"Really, really big music... ..briskly jubilant. A pawky menagerie of Baroque, minimalism, film music argot, and Mozart at his cutsiest -- really." --New Music Box, Issue 54 - Vol. 5, No. 6, October 2003
"highly communicative... Though Catching Fireflies is generally an upbeat piece distinguished by some very resourceful percussion -writing, it is its quieter lyrical sections that stick in the mind leaving one with a pang of longing for a time and a world that, for most of us, exists only in memory." --Fanfare, September/October 2004
"In the work's episodes, it is not difficult to picture children alternately scampering and pausing to recuperate." --American Record Guide, September/October 2004 “
…portrayed with greater grace and a welcome light touch, is the innocence of childhood fun as heard in Catching Fireflies by Daniel Burwasser, played by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra under Gerard Schwarz. --Infodad.com, September 25, 2014.
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