JAMES M. DAVID, composer
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Of Unsurpassed Heroes

Of Unsurpassed Heroes
​for brass choir and percussion


Medium - 6 minutes - $80
commissioned by the Colorado State University Faculty Brass Ensemble
Purchase Score and Parts from Murphy Music Press
Murphy Music Press ยท Of Unsurpassed Heroes-James David
View Perusal Score

Program Notes

Of Unsurpassed Heroes is a brief symphonic essay for large brass choir and percussion that is inspired by the beautiful and powerful wartime works of Walt Whitman. The title is taken from Whitman’s poem “The Wound Dresser” that describes his feelings while serving as a combat nurse during America’s Civil War. He describes both the pain and tragedy of war as well as the bravery and compassion of the soldiers who fought. My piece attempts to capture these feelings through simple hymn-like settings based on an original five-note motive. Field drum and muted trumpet calls are interspersed throughout, while a cantabile melody based on a “falling-fifths” progression floats gently over the battlefield. The work concludes with a spirit of optimism that humanity can ultimately triumph over war and violence.
 
-Notes by the composer, July 2021, Fort Collins, Colorado
  • Home
  • about
  • wind ensemble
    • Message from Arecibo
    • Flying Jewels
    • Urban Light
    • Troublesome Fire
    • Symphony no. 1
    • Ghosts of the Old Year
    • Call to Commitment
    • With Soul Serene
    • March Tumbao
    • Lookfar
    • Menlo Park, 1879
    • Zephyrus
    • Flexible Instrumentation
    • Heartland Verses
    • Swing Landscape
    • I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold
    • Concerto for Vibraphone
    • The Moorlands
    • Big Four on the River
    • All Dark Is Now No More
    • Temple's Grace
    • From the Shaken Tower
    • Two-Lane Blacktop
    • Sinfonietta no. 3
  • compositions
    • wind ensemble
    • clarinet >
      • all clarinet works
      • clarinet sonata
      • AUTO '66 - Clarinet Concerto
    • saxophone >
      • all saxophone works
      • Saxophone Sonata
      • L'oiseau dans l'espace
      • Saxophone/Percussion Double Quartet
    • trombone >
      • all trombone works
      • Trombone Sonata
      • Five American Dances
      • Song of the Valar
      • Bass Trombone Sonata
      • Partiels 2
      • Garden of the Gods
    • Other Brass Works >
      • Of Unsurpassed Heroes
      • Trumpet Sonata
    • Percussion >
      • The Dandelion
      • NOLA - BELA - SOWEGA
    • large ensemble >
      • Tin Lizzies on Old Fall River
      • LASCAUX
      • KAFKA - Sax Concerto
    • chamber ensemble >
      • Clarinet and Horn Trio
    • solo / electroacoustic
    • choral / vocal >
      • KUBLA KHAN
  • contact
  • Report Performance