Raritonality

2004 wind ensemble (CO)

Recording: Rutgers Wind Ensemble

Concert opener commissioned by the Rutgers Wind Ensemble, Dr. William Berz, Conductor.

Raritonality was commissioned by the Rutgers University Wind Ensemble as a musical salute to Rutgers University.

The opening fanfare is built on the notes C#-G-F#-F#, a representation on the chromatic scale of 1766, the year Rutgers was founded. This gives way to the chorus of “On the Banks of the Old Raritan,” the Rutgers alma mater, which undergoes a series of adaptations and transformations as it is combined with the opening fanfare in various ways, both melodic and harmonic, before returning to the opening.

Raritonality is the title piece of the eponymous CD by the Rutgers Wind Ensemble.

Composition of Raritonality was assisted by an Artist Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.