323305C0-1FC2-4D30-954A-17F7B79DBC49

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ID323305C0-1FC2-4D30-954A-17F7B79DBC49
TitlecodeR00349
Title NamePrairie Idyll
Marketing Copy(not set)
Instrumentation2.2.2.2: 4.2.0.0: Percussion(1).Harp: Strings
CommissionCommissioned by the New Hampshire Music Festival, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony and Society for Commissioning New Music.
Dedication(not set)
Program NotesThe Prairie ldyll was written on commission for the New Hampshire Music Festival. The work falls into four sections which are played without pause. The first of these is an exercise in neo-impressionism with a very free rhythmic pulse. The second section is livelier, more dance-like in character, while the third is tender and lyrical. The final portion is written as a fugue, which brings the work to a closing climax. The music is not meant to be a literal tone-poem of the prairie, but Hamlin's own musical impressions of "the few prairies left in Iowa." There are many little things happening all at once in this music, a representation of "the incredible diversity of life" found in the prairie ecosystem. Hamlin's developmental techniques correspond to the manner in which the prairie itself is "constantly changing. You go back to a spot two weeks later, and so many things are different."

In orchestrating his tribute to the wide open spaces Hamlin called for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, one percussionist who must play a multitude of instruments, harp, and strings. --Peter Hamlin
Title Brand2
Year Composed1988
Copyright Number(not set)
Copyright Year(not set)
Duration12
Ensemble Size13
Date Created2008-10-31 20:31:17.000000
Date Updated2025-09-30 20:31:17
Inhouse Note(not set)
Bsc Code(not set)
Text Author(not set)
Premier Performance Memo(not set)
Recording Credits(not set)
Review"a superb evocation of natural beauty--in this case the beauty of the prairie--in the finest tradition of thematic or program music... It is refreshing to hear a wonderfully joyful (and, yes, melodic) depiction of the movements and sounds that are part of an unspoiled natural environment. The sounds of the Prairie Idyll are remarkably like the sounds that emanate from the prairie, especially at dawn and at dusk. Hamlin's Idyll is also like that: a rich, natural--yet complex--piece that deserves to be heard, enjoyed, and studied, again and again." --George F. Day, Waterloo Courier
Awards(not set)
Title Category7
Title Movements(not set)
Title Grade(not set)
Set Series ID(not set)
Title Instrument Category TextFull Orchestra
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Title Sub Category31
Title Instrument Header41
Title Grade Text(not set)
Clean Urlprairie-idyll-r00349