NC State Wind Ensemble

The Thunderer was Mrs. Sousa’s favorite march, and was chosen by Sousa as one of five to be featured by his Great Lakes Naval Training Station Band on their tour on behalf of the American Red Cross during World War I.

The second section includes an adaptation of Here’s to Your Health, Sir!, which Sousa had written for his 1886 collection Trumpet and Drum.At the time this march was written, Sousa was 35 years of age. He had led the Marine Band for nine years and was considered an outstanding conductor and composer. However, he was still naive in many business matters. Before he changed publishers in 1892 and began to make his own business arrangements, he sold many of his most popular marches, including The Thunderer, for $35 each.

This Cruel Moon is the song of the beautiful and immortal nymph Kalypso, who finds Odysseus near death, washed up on the shore of the island where she lives all alone. She nurses him back to health, and sings as she moves back and forth with a golden shuttle at her loom. Odysseus shares her bed; seven years pass. The tapestry she began when she nursed him becomes a record of their love.

But one day Odysseus remembers his home. He tells Kalypso he wants to leave her, to return to his wife and son. He scoffs at all she has given him. Kalypso is heartbroken.

And yet, that night, Kalypso again paces at her loom. She unravels her tapestry and weaves it into a sail for Odysseus. In the morning, she shows Odysseus a raft, equipped with the sail she has made and stocked with bread and wine, and calls up a gentle and steady wind to carry him home. Shattered, she watches him go; he does not look back.

Dionysiaques was composed for the 100-member Garde Républicaine Band in Paris in 1913, mere months after Schmitt attended the premiere performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Its own premiere had to wait until 1925 because of World War I but it has been performed frequently since the mid-20th century and it now stands as one of the cornerstone pieces of the early wind band repertoire.

The title comes from the “Dyonisia” – ancient Greek celebrations honoring Dionysus, the god of wine. He was thought to have provided man with the vineyard, and subsequently the harvest, winemaking, drunkenness and the means for mystical trances.

The piece itself begins ominously as the low brass and woodwinds set the stage for an exotic and almost hypnotic journey. Schmitt’s impressionistic tendencies are immediately evident: wandering melodies emerge in the woodwinds and gradually gain momentum. Their fluidity is slowly abandoned in favor of festivity, perhaps encouraged by the ‘fluid’ of Dionysus, be it red or white. The bacchanal eventually bursts forth, brimming with rhythmic vitality and a relentless insistence on partying all the way to the verge of control, and perhaps a bit beyond.

Godzilla Eats Las Vegas! was commissioned by the University of Las Vegas, Thomas G. Leslie, conductor, and received its premiere on November 28^th, 1996.

According to Eric Whitacre:

“I wrote the bulk of the piece while in my first year at Juilliard, and no kidding, I used to act out the script every morning devouring animal crackers, wreaking havoc all over the breakfast table. The ‘script’ was originally twice as long, and had an entire subplot devoted to a young scientist and his love interest. As I started to finish the piece, however, it didn’t seem that funny and that story (along with an extended Elvis tribute) ended up on the cutting room floor.”

PART ONE

FADE UP
It is a Bright and Sunny day as the sequined curtain rises on tinsel town, and the excitement of a new day filled with the possibility of The Big Payoff is practically palpable. The band kicks off the show in high gear and all is well as we suddenly hear:

CUT TO DESERT
A lone shakuhachi flute usher the arrival of something really VERY bad.

CUT BACK TO BAND
A relaxed rhumba. showgirls blissfully jiggle.

CUT TO MILITARY COMMAND CENTER
Morse code signals the confirmation of approaching doom.

CUT BACK TO BAND
The players finish off their third set and head for the bar; outside we hear:

SLOW ZOOM
Oh no, oh no, oh no, it’s:

CLOSE UP
Godzilla! Glorious Godzilla!

VARIOUS QUICK CUTS
Godzilla destroys cars, screaming tourists, ect.

CUT BACK TO BAND
The band, quasi Greek Chorus, calls for Godzilla to Mambo.

GODZILLA, FULL FRAME
Godzilla mambos, casually crushing hysterical Vegans without missing a step.

EXTREME CLOSE UP
A tiny terrier barking bravely, then:

CUT BACK TO GODZILLA
Demolishing everything in his path… not even the doggie escapes!

WIDE PAN
As Godzilla heads down the strip, searching relentlessly for:

CLOSE UP (stock footage)
Frank Sinatra (Stomped!)

CLOSE UP (stock footage)
Wayne Newton (Stamped!)

CLOSE UP (stock footage)
Liberace (Stepped upon!)

VARIOUS CUTS
The Village Gods destroyed, Godzilla continues his carnage until the City of Sin is leveled!

PART TWO

FADE UP
A fearless army of Elvises (Elvi) appear in the distance, formation marching through the littered streets

VARIOUS CLOSE UPS
The Elvi attack, using bombers, missiles, ect.

EXTREME CLOSE UP
One wicked laugh from Godzilla and the Elvi scatter like mice!

QUICK CUT (stock footage)
The Sphinx sits outside The Luxor, looking seductive in a Mae West sort of way.

CLOSE UP
Godzilla takes one look and his eyes pop out of his head.

QUICK CUTS
The Sphinx (Sphinxtress?) seduces the Reptile, who instantly falls in love and begins to…

WIDE SHOT
…tango with her.

SPLIT SCREEN
As they dance, the Elvi slowly regroup and head for the:

QUICK CUT (stock footage)
Pirate ships at Treasure Island

ACTION SEQUENCE (MONTAGE)
The Elvi approach the dancing monster and launch a ferocious volley of cannonballs directly at him.

QUICK CLOSE-UPS
The cannonballs find their mark, and Godzilla:

WIDE SHOT
Falls to the ground, annihilated. The Elvi are triumphant!

CROSSFADE
The lounge is open again, and the city of Las Vegas toasts the victory. The scene climaxes with:

VARIOUS CUTS (stock footage)
People happy, tearful, ect. Stock footage, stock music.

SLOW FADE OUT AND FADE UP
A dark, ominous, and very familiar sound…

SLOW ZOOM
Godzilla lives! Godzilla lives! Complete terror (possible sequel?).

WIDE SHOT
The Show is over. The End.

FADE TO BLACK