Three songs of bengal
A three-movement arrangement of Bengali songs for concert band.
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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-
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 |
| score_three_songs_of_bengal_sample_score.pdf |
Instrumentation
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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) |