In the autumn of 1994, this work was commissioned by Kawagoe Technical High School Band for ensemble contest as was "Terpsichore I" in the previous year. The unusual instrumentation included single reed woodwinds, four-part brass and keyboard percussion responding to Kawagoe's limited membership.Some of Terpsichore's 312 dance movements arranged and edited by Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) are widely known as standards in the genres of early music and chamber brass. It was a challenge to modernize early dance music using only melodies from Praetorius, altering rhythms and harmonies freely. This work adheres less to the original than Terpsichore I and is strongly affected by my inspiration for this peculiar instrumentation.Terpsichore II was revised for wind band in 1997 and released as "Suite Villanesca", later performed by the Garde Republicaine Band of France.
(Kazuhiro Morita)
