FJH Music Company Nevermore - Balmages - Concert Band - Gr. 3

Composer: Brian Balmages
Format: Score and Parts
Instrumentation: Concert Band
Grade: 3

This contemporary work based on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" tells the eerie story of a man confronted by a raven, and his slow descent into utter madness. A haunting piano line supports the opening melody in alto saxophone, surrounded by contemporary effects and textures. As the man becomes more irritated, the music picks up in tempo and becomes increasingly dissonant and violent until it errupts in a cacophony of chaos. Finally, the man "breaks," and the unsettling sounds of the opening piano return. Absolutely stunning.