The Cowboy and the Rattlesnake
Fantasy for Solo Violin on Traditional Cowboy Songs
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SKU: PR.164002880
Fantasy for Solo Violin on Traditional Cowboy Songs. Composed by Dan Welcher. Sws. Premiered by 22 Finalists of the Yehudi Menuhin Inernational Violin Competition, 2014, McCullough Theater, University of Texas, Austin, TX. Contemporary. Performance Score. With Standard notation. Composed 2013. 8 pages. Duration 6:30. Theodore Presser Company #164-00288. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.164002880).ISBN 9781598068337. UPC: 680160621248. 9x12 inches.
When Dan Welcher was commissioned to create a solo work for the 2014 Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition, it was suggested that he incorporate some local color-either Texan or American to commemorate the year's competition being held in Austin. Welcher found the traditional songs The Dying Cowboy and Rattlesnake, and made a two-part (slow-fast) composition. The first section consists of three "verses" of The Dying Cowboy, beginning simply and ending with virtuosic effects. This leads directly into a continuously varied rendition of Rattlesnake, a perpetual motion song about getting away from the varmint. The music is one long accelerando, with flashes of bravura and Paganini-like flourishes.
This work was commissioned for the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition, to be held in Austin, Texas in March of 2014. It was suggested to me that I incorporate something of local color (either “Texan” or “American”) to commemorate the fact that this year’s competition is being held here, so I began by researching cowboy songs. I ultimately settled on two—“The Dying Cowboy” and “Rattlesnake”—and made the piece a two-part (slow-fast) composition. The first part consists of three “verses” of “The Dying Cowboy”, beginning simply and purely and ending with multiple stops, fingered tremolos, and virtuosic effects. It leads directly into a continuously varied rendition of “Rattlesnake”, a perpetual motion song about getting away from the varmint. The music is one long accelerando, with flashes of bravura and Paganini-like flourishes of technique.