Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility) for wind ensemble by Roger Zare

Performed by the Columbus State University Wind Ensemble, Dr. Jamie Nix conducting, Legacy Hall, Schwob School of Music. April 11, 2013.
Mare Tranquillitatis translates to "Sea of Tranquility," and is the famous location on the moon where Apollo 11 landed and the first man set foot on the lunar surface. The music seeks to capture a dichotomy of emotions - tranquil beauty and restless isolation. All of the musical material is derived from only two ideas - the descending fourth heard in the opening bar, and the flowing and surging melody heard not long after. These two ideas trade back and forth within a contrapuntal texture, swelling and flowing as they interact with each other. The music recedes into a quieter realm and a quartet of soloists emerges, juxtaposing the lush full textures with a delicate and intimate passage.
After many peaks and dips, the emotional arc of the piece culminates in the long-awaited return of the second theme. It grows and transforms into a sweeping gesture, bringing closure to the pent-up tension from before. What follows is an epilogue, and the piece ends with one final tender moment with the solo quartet.
The string version of Mare Tranquillitatis was commissioned by Jeffrey Bishop and the Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. The wind ensemble version was commissioned by a consortium of 29 wind ensembles around the United States.
For more information, please visit www.rogerzare.c...
Columbus State University wind ensemble: music.columbus...

[@tracyli5973]

I'm playing this piece (strings edition) at my school! It's so beautiful!

[@damianwayne6690]

I played this at a USCL Band Clinic 2 months ago. This is by far my most favorite piece to play and I enjoyed every moment. Nice work, man!

[@roheryn43]

Breathtaking!

[@bmuseo]

Did you switch the orchestration around 35-39 between the oboe and english horn? This version sounds like it was different.

[@rogerjzare]

Yep, that was a revision that I made at some point after this performance

[@brandonlingjennwenahs4127]

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