Blue Lake Fantasies-David Gillingham

David Gillingham is a very prominent composer for the euphonium as well as other instruments and ensembles.  His most notable works for euphonium include his Concerto for Euphonium, Vintage, Blue Lake Fantasies, and a Tuba/Euphonium Duet titled Diversive Elements.  All of these pieces are a blast to play and should be considered by all serious players looking for some cool repertoire.  I will be focusing on his Blue Lake Fantasies.

David Gillingham earned Bachelor and Master Degrees in Instrumental Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the PhD in Music Theory/Composition from Michigan State University. Dr. Gillingham has an international reputation for the works he has written for band and percussion.  His numerous awards include the 1981 DeMoulin Award for Concerto for Bass Trombone and Wind Ensemble and the 1990 International Barlow Competition (Brigham Young University) for Heroes, Lost and Fallen. Also, nationally known artists, Fred Mills (Canadian Brass), Randall Hawes (Detroit Symphony) and Charles Vernon (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) have performed works by Dr. Gillingham. Over sixty of his works for band, choir, percussion, chamber ensembles, and solo instruments are published by C. Alan, Hal Leonard, Southern Music, Music for Percussion, Carl Fischer, MMB, T.U.B.A, I.T.A., and Dorn. Dr. Gillingham is a Professor of Music at Central Michigan University.

Blue Lake Fantasies was commissioned by the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium Festival at the Blue Lake camp in Michigan.  It is a virtuosic work intended for a professional or advanced student to play.  The different movements exploit the technical facility of the Euphonium while also taking advantage of the lyrical quality of the instrument.  The piece is in the form of a five movement suite with each of the movements titles being associated with aspects from experiencing the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.  The work is programmatic in the sense that the title of the movement suggests a certain image or character.

The first movement is titled Firefly, this title suggests a mimicry of that specific insect.  It contains fast technical passages to simulate the lightning fast movements of the firefly.  It also contains a short melodic eighth note passage that can project the idea of the Firefly resting in the grass.




The second movement is titled Moonlight Across the Water.  It is very musical and expressive and is "a direct result of the emotion felt by the composer on many occasions while contemplating the serene beauty of a lake adorned by shimmering moonlight" (composers notes).



The third movement is titled All That Jazz.  It is a salute to the jazz program at Blue Lake with its swung style and stereotypical rhythms.  The movement calls for a straight mute to bring out this jazz
 influence.



The fourth movement is titled Ancient Native Air.  It is a very simplistic and lyrical movement based on the Chippewa Indian Tune "My Music Reaches to the Sky."  The composer included this tune because of Michigan's rich Native American History.  This movement calls for multiphonics when the indian tune is present, with the sung line being the melody and the instrument playing an A-flat underneath.



The fifth movement is titled Party Antics.  It is a musical cliche with stereotypical melodic and rhythmic patterns.  "The music is intended to capture the spirit  of celebration at a party gathering on the last day of camp.  There is, however, a bittersweet wrinkle in all this fun:  a soaring and majestic secondary theme reflects the sadness as new found friends depart from camp and go their separate ways. (Ibid..)" Unfortunately there is not a recording of the 5th movement on YouTube.  There is a recording available for purchase on iTunes by Danny Hellseth.