Score
Timpani : 4 drums, all tuned flat and muted, so pitch becomes indistinct. Use hard wood.
Percussion 1 : Xylophone, Glockenspiel (shared with Percussion 2), 1 Crotale (pitched F)
Percussion 2 : Vibraphone, Glockenspiel (shared with Percussion 1), Steel Drums *
Percussion 3 : Marimba, Ratchet, Whip
Instrumentation
Piccolo
Flute 1, 2
Oboe 1, 2
Bassoon
Contrabassoon
Clarinet in Eb
3 Clarinets in Bb
Bass Clarinet in Bb
Contrabass Clarinet in Bb (model must have low C)
2 Alto Saxes
Tenor Sax
Baritone Sax
4 Trumpets in Bb
4 French Horns
2 Tenor Trombones
1 Bass Trombone
Euphonium
2 Tubas
Piano (Can be an amplified upright piano, somewhat out of tune. Should sound ""saloon-like."")
Accordion *
Percussion (6 players, plus timpani)
Double Bas
* indicates that the part it optional - but preferred - and cued in other instruments as needed
Commissioned by Lamar University; California State University Stanislaus; Emory University; Florida State University; University of Kansas; Louisiana State University; and Michigan State University.
Consortium organized by Scott Weiss of Lamar University.
World premiere on April 17, 2005, at Lamar University, conducted by Scott Weiss.
This work -- my first original, non-transcribed piece for wind ensemble -- tells the story of an Old West saloon. "Sasparilla" (that's the slangified spelling) used to be a liquor, but now it's essentially a type of root beer. As you listen to "Sasparilla," imagine Bugs Bunny in 1860, somewhere out West, getting drunk, riding to Mexico on horseback, and getting into trouble.
(John Mackey)
