Aakash Mittal
  • Home
  • Wind Ensemble
    • Poorvi
  • Events
  • Music
  • Writing
  • News
  • Press
  • Bio
  • Contact

Wind Ensemble

Poorvi ​an evening raga for concert band

Picture
Title: Poorvi 
Lead Commissioner: California Band Masters Association Social Impact Consortium
Duration: 4:30
Grade Level: 2.5
Digital Score and Parts: $200

Poorvi: An Evening Raga for wind ensemble explores the sound of this foundational north Indian raga in the concert band medium. The piece opens with aleatoric playing of metallic objects while clarinets play the characteristic phrases of raag Poorvi, called the raag chalan. Following the clarinet soli a woodwind choir and then full winds further develop the raga melodies. The piece builds energy with a grooving arrangement of the Hindustani khayal (song) "Ye meri mai ka sub suka dino" and concludes with a choral like return to the characteristic phrases of Poorvi. 

To aid with your research into raga music and your rehearsals, the score includes an essay about raag Poorvi by internationally acclaimed vocalist Samarth Nagarkar. The score also includes three warmups to aid your rehearsal of the khayal and raag chalan sections. The warmups include instructions on how to sing utilizing Indian melodic syllables  (called sargam) ​as well as parts to play as a full ensemble. 
Instrumentation
Woodwinds
Flute* 

Oboe*
     
Doubles high w.w.
Bassoon*
     Doubles low w.w.
Clarinet 1

Clarinet 2

Bass Clarinet*  
     
Doubles low w.w.
Alto Saxophone 1-2*

Tenor Saxophone*

Baritone Saxophone*

     Doubles low w.w.


Brass
Trumpet in Bb 1*
Trumpet in Bb 2*
Horn in F* (optional)
Trombone*

Euphonium*
Tuba*

Strings
Bass, Electric or Acoustic* (optional)


Percussion
Timpani*

Percussion 1* 

     Snare Drum
Percussion 2* 
     Medium Tom and High Tom

Percussion 3* 

     Tambourine

Percussion 4* 

     Crash Cymbals, Suspended Cymbals

Percussion 5* 

     Bass Drum             

Percussion 6* 

     Glockenspiel

*Instrumentalists that play metallic objects. See composer’s notes.

Salt March ​for wind ensemble

Picture
​
​
Title: Salt March
Lead Commissioner: ​Jennifer Bergeron, Walsh Middle School, Round Rock TX. 

Duration: 5:00 
Grade Level: 4
Digital Score and Parts: $150

About Salt March for Wind Ensemble

In the spring of 1930 Mohandas K. Gandhi began a non-violent protest of British colonialism that would come to be known as the salt march. Starting from their ashram in Ahmedabad, India, Gandhi and his collaborators would walk 239 miles to the western coast. By making salt out of seawater, Gandhi challenged unjust laws that gave Britain a monopoly on salt production. This act of civil disobedience would, in Gandhi’s own words, “shake the foundation of the British empire” and lead toward Indian independence.  

Salt March for Wind Ensemble will explore the concept of the march as non-violent protest rather than military celebration. The piece will weave the rhythms of south Asian processional drumming with melodies from the Indian raga tradition and an arrangement of songs associated with Mahatma Gandhi. The music will tell a story of Gandhi’s march for freedom. 

​
Instrumentation
Woodwinds
Piccolo (doubles Flute 1*)
Flute 1
Flute 2
​
Oboe (doubles part*) 
Bassoon (doubles part*) 
Clarinet in Bb 1
Clarinet in Bb 2
Bass Clarinet
Alto Saxophone
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone (doubles part*) 
​​Brass
Trumpet in Bb 1
Trumpet in Bb 2 & 3
Horn in F 1 & 2 (doubles*)
Trombone 1& 2
Euphonium 
Tuba

​
​Strings
Electric Bass (optional)
Percussion
Timpani
​
Percussion 1 Snare Drum
 
Percussion 2 Tambourine
 
Percussion 3 Suspended Cymbal with soft mallets, Crash Cymbals
​
Percussion 4 Low Tom
 
Percussion 5 Bass Drum

Percussion 6 Optional Aux Percussion

 
*These instruments will double other parts making them optional for bands who don’t have the full instrumentation. 

 Three Songs of Bengal 

A three-movement arrangement of Bengali songs for concert band.
Picture
​Title: Three Songs of Bengal
​Composer/Arranger: Aakash Mittal
Lead Commissioner: Jeff Ball, Grand Street High School, Brooklyn NY 
Length: 5:00
Grade Level: 2
Digital Score and Parts: $75.00 
About the piece
While living in West Bengal with the goal of studying Hindustani Raga Music, I regularly experienced the vast repertoire of Bengali composers and songwriters. As a person of Punjabi-Euro origin the music of Bengal utilized instruments, sounds, and song forms I had never encountered. During my stay I played saxophone along side Baul singers in Tanmoy Bose's band Taal Tantra. I listened to the poetry and songs of Tagore at chai stands, on concert stages, and on rooftops. These experiences struck me as an important testament to the plurality of South Asia's cultural landscape. As a followup to my first wind ensemble piece, Samay Raga, Three Songs of Bengal is a reflection on the music I encountered within Bengali communities. Each movement is an instrumental arrangement of a traditional Bangla (Bengali) song for concert band. The piece begins with a song composed by Rabindranath Tagore, the polymathic artist, poet, playwright, composer, and activist who was an important figure in the Bengal Renaissance. The second movement is by Kazi Nazrul Islam who was nicknamed the "rebel poet" for his dissent against the British Empire and the cultural hegemony of Tagore. The piece concludes with a song from the Baul tradition, a community of wandering minstrels whose music centers nature themes and the body. 

Aakash Mittal-
Sample Score and Recording
three_songs_of_bengal_brooklyn_wind_symphony.mp3
File Size: 4872 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

score_three_songs_of_bengal_sample_score.pdf
File Size: 5827 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Instrumentation

​Winds
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
Clarinet in Bb 1
Clarinet in Bb 2
Bass Clarinet
Alto Saxophone
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone


​​Brass
Trumpet in Bb 1
Trumpet in Bb 2
Horn in F
Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba

​Strings
Electric Bass (optional)
Ek Tara or Guitar (optional)
Percussion
Timpani

Percussion 1
Bass Drum
 
Percussion 2
Claves, Crash Cymbals, Finger Cymbals, Singing Bowl, Suspended Cymbal with soft mallets, Tom-toms
 
Percussion 3
Snare Drum
​
Percussion 4
Drum Set (with Bass Drum, Floor Tom, Hi Hat, High Tom, Snare Drum, and Ride Cymbal), Suspended Cymbal with soft mallets, Tambourine
 
Percussion 5
Glockenspiel and Wind Chimes
 
Tabla (optional)
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Wind Ensemble
    • Poorvi
  • Events
  • Music
  • Writing
  • News
  • Press
  • Bio
  • Contact