Fortaleza
Subtitle: Symphonic Poem for Band
General Info
Year: 2012
Duration: c. 12:00
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Mordente Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - €45.00 | Score Only (print) - €20.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium I-II
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including
- Military Drum (large)
- Bass Drum
- Claves
- Crash Cymbals
- Darbuka
- Flexatone
- Glockenspiel
- Hammer on wood (or Woodblock)
- Military Drum (large)
- Rattle (or Sleigh Bells)
- Shekere
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tambourine
- Tam-tam
- Tenor Drum
- Toms
- Triangle
- Whip
- Xylophone
Violoncello
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
To paraphrase the opening scene of Robert Redford’s film The Last Castle, by observing a castle and studying the key elements which make it a fortress, one can see that those key elements haven’t changed in the last 2000 years. Those elements are the location, the walls, the guard and the flag. There are other related epic themes, such as legend and love, both of which Andrés Álvarez includes in this, his fortress.
Commissioned by the Town of Tomiño to celebrate the restoration of the San Lourenzo Castle, this symphonic poem was debuted by the Goián Band in 2013, the year after its composition.
In addition to the leading role of the percussion instruments, which is typical for this type of work, the trumpets and saxophones draw the listener into the thematic ideas of the piece. The rhythmic acceleration and the displacement of the natural compass accentuation, together with the use of triplets, allow the composer’s original intent to come through. The prolonged final notes and the agitated ostinato rhythm of the wood instruments create the impulse that is characteristic of this type of work, respecting the established canons that have been approved throughout time.
- Program Note from WASBE
Commissioned by "CONCELLO de TOMIÑO, June 2012
- Program Note from score
Awards
- Fortaleza has been recommended as interesting, serious and distinctive music by members of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE).
Media
- Audio: Banda de Música de Meaño - 2015
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Marion (IA) High School Wind Symphony (Logan Vander Wiel, conductor) – 15 May 2025 (2025 IBA Conference, Des Moines)
- Mount Mercy University (Cedar Rapids, IA) Concert Band (Jack Frank, conductor) – 5 May 2024
- Banda de Música Popular de Moaña (Salvador Meira Corrales, conductor) – 2014
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Alejandro Bastos (2023)
- El Olimpo de los Dioses (as arranger with Navarro) (2014/2015)
- Fortaleza (2012)
- Impresions (2014)
- The Land Hurricane (2024)
- Symphonic Sketches (2015)
- Theseus (2013)
- Vilasobroso (2013)
Resources
- "Fortaleza," World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) website. Accessed 5 January 2016