Two-Lane  Blacktop
for wind ensemble

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Purchase score and parts through Murphy Music Press
Grade 5 - $125 - ca. 5.5 minutes
View Perusal Score (opens new window)

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Program Notes

“Two-Lane Blacktop” is an homage to the open road and the distant horizon.  Inspired by Mary Heilmann’s abstract painting of the same name, this short work for wind ensemble is a similarly abstract etude about tempo, rhythm, and movement.  An opening ascending gesture is heard throughout that represents “gear shifts” that alternate with increasingly complex variations on a three-note motive.  The contrasting center section employs a soaring saxophone melody that depicts the timeless feeling of driving through the Utah desert.  Finally, the variations build to maximum complexity only to collapse into a single intense acceleration.

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