Wednesday 3 January 2007

Persis Overture

Persis Overture is a contemporary band piece composed by James L. Hosay. It is one of the most famous band pieces in the band scene due to its ability to 'attach' the listener and its enchanting melodies.

Persis Overture is essentially about a love story in a dream. The piece has a 'persian', 'oriental' feel and starts off grandly with lots of brass instruments. The Percussion 'push' the music forward with lots of running notes especially on the marimba. There is some sort of interplay between groups of instruments requiring some balancing feat. The entire piece, however, is generally homophonic.

The oboe solo in the middle of the piece is expressive and requires musicality of the soloist. The oboe solo should be played with lots of expression but not to the extent of being melodramatic. The oboe solo is then built up to a larger instrumentation and eventually, we are brought back to the recapitulation.

The finale of the piece is one of my favourites. It is a modification of the melody of the oboe solo and accompanied by horns. It brings about some form of 'sustained' emotion in the listener and its extremely 'touching' and melodious.

I give this piece a 8/10. However, it is often overplayed.

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