Hanson, Shelley: Tocata & La Tumba de Alejandro Garcia Caturla

Shelley Hanson originally composed Islas y Montañas for orchestra. "Tocata" is the first movement and functions as a fanfare or introduction. It features the entire ensemble clapping rhythmic patterns based on the Cuban 3/2-clave rhythm. It's a great way to get the crowd ready for "La Tumba de Alejandro Garcia Caturla," originally the fourth movement from Islas y Montañas. It is beautifully transcribed here for concert band. It is a musical rumination about Cuban composer Alejandro Garcia Caturla (1906-1940) who studied with Nadia Boulanger but was later assassinated while presiding as a judge. It opens with a haunting English horn cadenza (alternate cueing provided) followed by harmonic shifts, intense soli writing and driving rhythms that sweep through the ensemble.