Instrumentation- Trumpet duet
Composer- Chidester
Length- 3:02
Difficulty- M
Range – Low A to top space G
Endurance- 2
Finger technique- 2
Counting ability- 2
Ensemble difficulty- 2
When my wife decided this morning at 3:00 am to watch the wedding of Prince William & Catherine Middleton, I knew my rest was over. What better way to spend the morning than writing something to commemorate the occasion? At that hour of the morning many things go through your head and for that reason I have included many motives from other works in this duet. In order to keep order, I will give you a running account of each entry.
Program notes for Royal Wedding Duet-
The overture begins with "Rule, Britannia" as a tribute to the British Empire under which you will hear two very brief entrances of Prince William’s theme (Where Are You Going Billy Boy). The next entrance signals the entrance of the wedding party with a few measures of “Trumpet Tune” by J. Clark followed by Catherine Middleton’s theme (K-K-K-Katy) written by Geoffrey O'Hara in 1917. Over this beautiful work I have superimposed short motivic utterances of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” to add more regal ambiance to the occasion. Following this I inserted Jeremiah Clark’s “Trumpet Voluntary” just in case someone would not feel complete without hearing this famous composition and to make sure they did recognize it, I repeated it, louder and in a higher key. At this point in the Recapitulation section, I restated Prince William’s theme in a more homophonic style to show strength and confidence which was needed at this point in the ceremony. In fear that Prince William might loose his composure, I restated "Rule, Britannia" to give him the assurance that the whole British Empire was behind him in his decision to marry and to reinforce this feeling, I repeated the theme louder and in a higher key.
This brings us to the Development section. (If you have been reading along, I am sure that you have noticed the adjustment I have made in the structure of this piece, i.e. placing the Development section after the Recapitulation section). Sorry about that but do remember that I was writing it at 3:30 in the morning. Just think of it as New Age music. Now back to the program notes. At this point I have restated Catherine Middleton’s theme and alternated with Prince William’s theme to symbolize the unity of the marriage vows. Eventually both themes are performed one over the other. No symbolism intended. Handel’s Messiah reenters as we now enter the coda section which is the signing of the vows during the wedding ceremony. Upon the actually signing, I have placed the last statement of "Rule, Britannia" to give it a more closing feel. In the last few bars you will notice the final entry of Prince William’s theme followed shortly by a shortened version of Catherine Middleton’s theme. I thought it would be appropriate that the wife would have the last word.
To all our friends in the United Kingdom, congratulations and all I can say is, “You sure know how to throw a party.”
Congratulations to the newlyweds from the Branson Trumpet Ensemble.
Composer- Chidester
Length- 3:02
Difficulty- M
Range – Low A to top space G
Endurance- 2
Finger technique- 2
Counting ability- 2
Ensemble difficulty- 2
When my wife decided this morning at 3:00 am to watch the wedding of Prince William & Catherine Middleton, I knew my rest was over. What better way to spend the morning than writing something to commemorate the occasion? At that hour of the morning many things go through your head and for that reason I have included many motives from other works in this duet. In order to keep order, I will give you a running account of each entry.
Program notes for Royal Wedding Duet-
The overture begins with "Rule, Britannia" as a tribute to the British Empire under which you will hear two very brief entrances of Prince William’s theme (Where Are You Going Billy Boy). The next entrance signals the entrance of the wedding party with a few measures of “Trumpet Tune” by J. Clark followed by Catherine Middleton’s theme (K-K-K-Katy) written by Geoffrey O'Hara in 1917. Over this beautiful work I have superimposed short motivic utterances of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” to add more regal ambiance to the occasion. Following this I inserted Jeremiah Clark’s “Trumpet Voluntary” just in case someone would not feel complete without hearing this famous composition and to make sure they did recognize it, I repeated it, louder and in a higher key. At this point in the Recapitulation section, I restated Prince William’s theme in a more homophonic style to show strength and confidence which was needed at this point in the ceremony. In fear that Prince William might loose his composure, I restated "Rule, Britannia" to give him the assurance that the whole British Empire was behind him in his decision to marry and to reinforce this feeling, I repeated the theme louder and in a higher key.
This brings us to the Development section. (If you have been reading along, I am sure that you have noticed the adjustment I have made in the structure of this piece, i.e. placing the Development section after the Recapitulation section). Sorry about that but do remember that I was writing it at 3:30 in the morning. Just think of it as New Age music. Now back to the program notes. At this point I have restated Catherine Middleton’s theme and alternated with Prince William’s theme to symbolize the unity of the marriage vows. Eventually both themes are performed one over the other. No symbolism intended. Handel’s Messiah reenters as we now enter the coda section which is the signing of the vows during the wedding ceremony. Upon the actually signing, I have placed the last statement of "Rule, Britannia" to give it a more closing feel. In the last few bars you will notice the final entry of Prince William’s theme followed shortly by a shortened version of Catherine Middleton’s theme. I thought it would be appropriate that the wife would have the last word.
To all our friends in the United Kingdom, congratulations and all I can say is, “You sure know how to throw a party.”
Congratulations to the newlyweds from the Branson Trumpet Ensemble.