Yesterday I described Aaron Copeland’s Fanfare for the Common Man as a staple of patriotic concerts. Yesterday it was the opening number of the National Cathedral’s Independence Day program.
I then learned that composer Joan Tower had written a series of six short Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman as “parts” of one 25-minute composition.
She describes the work as a tribute to “women who take risks and are adventurous”, with each dedicated to an inspiring woman in music.
The first of the Fanfares was commissioned by the Houston Symphony as part of the orchestra’s Fanfare Project and was composed in 1986. It was originally inspired by Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and employs the same instrumentation while adding the glockenspiel, marimba, chimes, and drums. The piece is about 2 minutes and 41 seconds long and is dedicated to the conductor Marin Alsop. (source: Wikipedia)
Equal Time
Here is the St. Louis Symphony’s recording of the first of the six fanfares.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa7yiLOp4DA&list=RDaa7yiLOp4DA&start_radio=1&t=42)