The Hounds of Spring

The Hounds of Spring is a concert overture for winds, written by the American composer, Alfred Reed in 1980.[1]

Reed was inspired by the poem Atalanta in Calydon (1865), by Victorian era English poet, Algernon Charles Swinburne, a recreation in modern English verse of an ancient Greek tragedy. That poem includes the line "When the hounds of spring are on winter's traces."[2]

It was Reed's desire to capture the dual elements of the poem - high-spirited youthful jauntiness and the innocence of tender love.[3]

The Hounds of Spring was commissioned by, and dedicated to, the John L. Forster Secondary School Concert Band of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and its director, Gerald Brown.[4] The world premiere was in Windsor on May 8, 1980, conducted by the composer. Ever since then it has been a popular concert piece played by high school ensembles across the world.

References

  1. ↑ "Strauss, Gershwin and Beyond!" (PDF). Seattle Wind Symphony. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Atalanta in Calydon
  3. ↑ http://www.virginia.edu/music/releasesarchive/releases00-01/releasewind04.html Archived February 16, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Reed, Alfred (17 March 2015). "The Hounds of Spring". Palatine concert band. Retrieved 20 July 2015.

External links

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