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If you've already read the program notes immediately below, or want to skip them for now, you can click --> to be taken immediately to the MP3 and MIDI files.

Table of Contents (TOC) of these Program Notes

• The Basics
  • Instrumentation
  • Duration
  • Composition date
  • Introduction
  • SwallowHill Bird Arrivals
  • Computer performers (when human ones are absent)
  
  
• Structure notes
• Keys
  
• MP3 and MIDI files
  
• Score package
  

The Basics

Instrumentation

Flute
Clarinet in Bb
Pipe Organ

Duration

7 minutes

Composition date

Composed for Fred Cory in March 1997.

Introduction

This is a trio for flute, clarinet, and pipe organ. But in fact the organ varies from a 'full organ' to a softer what-I-have-called 'semi-full organ', to flute chords and recorder chords, and, in places, solo flute, oboe, bassoon, and recorder lines playing below the real flute and clarinet -- you might ask: why not have these actual instruments? -- well, I have not tried to balance the parts perfectly, i.e., to make it worth an oboist's or bassoonist's time etc. -- nor have I kept rigidly within oboe and bassoon ranges (though approximately) -- rather, I considered that the organ (which I had wanted elsewhere in any case) could occasionally take on these different timbres. It is a light piece and, while in a minor key, basically cheerful and celebrating the arrival, I suppose, of birds and optimism in the spring.

SwallowHill Bird Arrivals

It is, of course, a rather old idea to use wind instruments to represent birds. My excuse for this old device is that, living out in the country, one can't help but notice the daily arrivals (during March to May) of the various returning migrants (suddenly winter calls turn into spring warbles and we realize that another seasonal cycle is upon us). Here on 'SwallowHill' we have the robins, grackles, phoebes, and redwings in mid-March; the house finches, purple finches, flickers, and killdeers in late March; the cowbirds, pewees, song sparrows, tree swallows (who rent our many bird boxes) in April; and the tons of others (orioles, meadow larks, etc.) who arrive with the crowds in May. In the early spring particularly, because of the need to mark out territory and attract mates, the sudden burst of song appears (summer is a little quieter).

Computer performers (when human ones are absent)

Like all the MIDI files here, it is in General MIDI form. The General MIDI patches (on the 0-127 numbering system) are:

	Part	General MIDI patch
		name	#
	Pipe Organ	Church Organ	19
	Organ Flute	Flute	73
	Organ Oboe	Oboe	68
	Organ Recorder	Recorder	74
	Flute	Flute	73
	Clarinet	Clarinet	71

How they sound will depend on your own playback software.

On my own synth I used the following patches:

	Part	Sound Module	Patch
			name	#
	Pipe Organ	Roland RD500	Pipe Organ 3	72
	Organ Flute	Roland JV880	Piccolo Flt from Orchestra Expansion Board (OEB)	90
	Organ Oboe	Roland JV880	Woodwind Split from OEB	150
	Organ Recorder	Roland JV880	Recorder from OEB	91
	Flute	Roland JV880	Piccolo Flt from OEB	90
	Clarinet	Roland JV880	Clarinet 1 from OEB	102

These are what you hear on the mp3 files.

Structure notes

Keys

There is some intentional ambiguity in the keys. From the organ intro up to the end of the Foreshadow of Theme 1, everything seems to be in the Aeolian (once called the Hypodorian -- minor third, sixth, and seventh -- the modern melodic minor descending) and there is not a G# in sight. But Theme 1 itself starts definitely in A minor, flirts with C major, and ends up in A minor again. In Section B the key begins in G major but with fairly chromatic shifts.

MP3 and MIDI files

Year	Title ... Instrumentation ...... Excerpts	Min: Sec	Complete MP3 files (better sound)** file size	MP3 file extracts (better sound)** file size	Complete MIDI file (not as good sound but quick)**
	The complete piece:
1997	Spring Arrivals ... for pipe organ, flute, & clarinet	7:18	5.0 MB
	How the MIDI file sounds depends, of course, on your playback mechanism. On my computer, MIDI files are played by the QuickTime PlugIn. The orgn is OK but not as rich as it should be; the clarinet is too beepy; the balance goes off quite badly at times (I have fixed it as much as I could but it's difficulet -- for reasons explained elsewhere. In comparison, the mp3 file (recorded from my sound-module patches) sounds much better and is better balanced.
	Short extracts:
	...... Intro	0:39		0.4 MB
	In this mp3 excerpt of the opening the organ is much richer, the clarinet sounds more clarinet-like, and the balance is better than in the embedded MIDI file.
	...... first main theme	0:31		0.3 MB
	In this mp3 excerpt of the first main theme there is a much better balance than in the embedded MIDI file. The organ and clarinet in particular are better.
	...... excerpt towards the end	0:32		0.3 MB
	In this mp3 excerpt towards the end there is again a much better balance and a richer organ sound than in the embedded MIDI file.

** If you have a high-speed connection, forget about the MIDI files and just use the MP3 files (better). If you have a dial-up connection, consider the faster (but not as good) MIDI file only if the MP3 files seem to be taking too long to play or download.

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Score Package
(Click on icons below to download pdf and rtf files)

Year	Title ... Instrumentation	Description	No. of score pages	Score (pdf file) file size	No. of text pages	Text (rtf file) file size
1997	Spring Arrivals ... for pipe organ, flute, & clarinet	Complete score *	19	0.4 MB	4	8 KB
	* email me if you would like any part extractions

(you will need the free Stuffit Expander for decompressing the rtf.sitx files)
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http://www.rodmer.com/RodMusic/ProgramNotes/SpringArrivalsNotes.html -- Revised Jul 28, 2005
Copyright © 1997 - 2005 Rod Anderson
rod@rodmer.com

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