''Chorale and Shaker Dance'' is a musical composition for

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

composed by

John Zdechlik John Zdechlik (''Zuh-DECK-lik''; May 2, 1937 – May 21, 2020) was an American composer, music teacher, and conductor. Zdechlik was elected to the American Bandmasters Association and many of his compositions became standard concert band reper ...

. It is a standard part of concert band literature, and it is frequently performed by student ensembles. The piece was commissioned by the

Jefferson High School This is a list of memorials to Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president of the United States and the author of the United States Declaration of Independence. Buildings Elementary schools *Jefferson Elementary School, in Cammack Village, Arkansas *Thoma ...

Band of

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, ma ...

, in honor of their conductor, Earl Benson. It was written in 1971 and premiered at the convention of

Music Educators National Conference The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) is an organization of American music educators dedicated to advancing and preserving music education as part of the core curriculum of schools in the United States. Founded in 1907 as the Mus ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

in March of the following year.

Composition details

''Chorale and Shaker Dance'' is a lively composition based on two musical themes, an original melody (the "chorale") and the

Shaker Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cock ...

tune, " Simple Gifts". It begins with a woodwind chorale composed of

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

E♭ clarinet The E-flat (E) clarinet is a member of the clarinet family, smaller than the more common B clarinet and pitched a perfect fourth higher. It is typically considered the sopranino or piccolo member of the clarinet family and is a transposing inst ...

, B♭ clarinet, E♭

alto clarinet The alto clarinet is a woodwind instrument of the clarinet family. It is a transposing instrument pitched in the key of E, though instruments in F have been made. In size it lies between the soprano clarinet and the bass clarinet. It bears a grea ...

, B♭

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

, and

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

with a canon theme exhibited several times between the saxophone and flute. Soon after, a

call-and-response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

melody is featured between high and low woodwind. Then approximately halfway through the piece, the

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

is switched to 2/2 and changes several times between 2/2, 3/2, 3/4, 4/4, and 5/4 through a gloomy and dark passage. The alto sax and flute canon returns near the end, and is followed by a low instrument chorale and a repetition of the

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

, ending with thundering

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...

. The compositional ideas of the piece include augmentation and diminution, as well as polytonality, melodic fragmentation, and homophonic and polyphonic textures. Several portions of the song feature "call and response" between instrumental groups, and canon variations play an essential role in supporting the simple Shaker melody. The composition is considered Grade 4 in difficulty and is commonly performed by high school, college, and community bands. It is John Zdechlik's most famous work, which he guest-conducted on over 500 occasions.A Composer’s Insight, Volume 3: Thoughts, Analysis and Commentary Masterpieces for Wind Band, Salzman, Timothy (Ed.). Meredith Music Publications: Galesville, MD, 2006, A more modestly scored arrangement of the piece, ''Chorale and Shaker Dance II'', was published in 1989 and has become popular with middle school and high school ensembles.

References

External links

Performance
by the

Concordia University Chicago Concordia University Chicago is a private university in River Forest, Illinois. Formerly a college exclusively for parochial teacher education, Concordia-Chicago now offers more than 100 undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and enrolls more t ...

Wind Symphony {{italic title Concert band pieces 1971 compositions Works based on Simple Gifts