Programmatic Notes:

This symphonic poem is based on the poem of the same name by the American poet Longfellow. It tells the story of a traveler who rushes along the coast towards a town and is then never seen again.

The text is to be understood as a metaphor for the short human life and the mystery of death. In the poem’s late-romantic style, the music paraphrases both the obvious, such as the peaceful rushing of the waves, but also the hidden, gigantic (and last but not least deadly) power that the water masses harbor.

While each verse ends with the coming and going of the tide, this work draws a single great arc, culminating in the second verse when the sea calls, little waves of white water “like white hands” draw the traveler (?) with them and, without effort, erase every trace of his presence.

But also without the traveler, life goes on. The village wakes up like every morning. All that remains is the realization that not only we, but also our heritage is ultimately finite and therefore transient.

The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

1  –  PICCOLO
1  –  FLUTE 1
1  –  FLUTE 2
1  –  OBOE
1  –  BASSOON

1  –  SOPRANINO CLARINET   (E-Flat)
3  –  CLARINETS 1   (B-Flat)
3  –  CLARINETS 2   (B-Flat)
4  –  CLARINETS 3   (B-Flat)
1  –  BASS CLARINET   (B-Flat)

1  –  ALTO SAXOPHONE 1    (E-Flat)
1  –  ALTO SAXOPHONE 2    (E-Flat)
1  –  TENOR SAXOPHONE    (B-Flat)
1  –  BARITONE SAXOPHONE   (E-Flat)

1  –  TRUMPET 1   (B-Flat)
1  –  TRUMPET 2   (B-Flat)
1  –  TRUMPET 3   (B-Flat)
1  –  FLUGELHORN 1   (B-Flat)
1  –  FLUGELHORN 2   (B-Flat)

1  –  HORN 1   (F)
1  –  HORN 2   (F)
1  –  HORN 3   (F)
1  –  HORN 4   (F)

1  –  TENOR HORN 1   (B-Flat)
1  –  TENOR HORN 2   (B-Flat)
1  –  BARITONE   (B-Flat)
1  –  TENOR TROMBONE 1
1  –  TENOR TROMBONE 2
1  –  BASS TROMBONE
1  –  BASS TUBA
1  –  CONTRABASS TUBA

1  –  TIMPANI
1  –  PERCUSSION 1
        Glockenspiel, Marimba
1  –  PERCUSSION 2
        Vibraphon
1  –  PERCUSSION 3
        Marimba, Crash Cymbal,
        2 Suspended Cymbals
1  –  PERCUSSION 4
        Bass Drum, Bell Tree

Full Score PDF: 10,00€
Complete Set PDF: 100,00€

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