Symphony No. 1 (In Memoriam Dresden, 1945)

Symphony No. 1 by Daniel Bukvich, performed by Washington High School Symphonic Band from Sioux Falls, SD. Recorded at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls, SD on April 29, 2008. Conducted by Jennifer Hawkinson.

Program Notes:
"Symphony No. 1" was written to depict the fire bombing of Dresden, Germany by Allied forces on February 13-14, 1945. In three waves of attacks, 3,300 tons of incendiary bombs were dropped on the city, creating a firestorm. The more the city burned, the more oxygen was drawn in, and the greater the fires became. It is thought that temperatures reached 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. As people began to flee, their feet burned as the surface of the road melted. Some attempted to save themselves by jumping into reservoirs in the city centre that were intended to assist fire fighters. As these were ten feet deep, smooth sided, and had no ladders, many drowned. Estimates of the number of casualties of this attack vary from as few as 25,000 to as many as 150,000. Due to the large number of refugees that had sought a safe haven in Dresden, we will never know for sure. Movement I, "Prologue", establishes the mood of impending disaster and presents the thematic material. Movement II, "Seeds in the Wind", refers to the method of "seeding" a bomb target with jellied gasoline and incendiaries. Movement III, "Ave Maria", reflects upon the religious and artistic heritage of Dresden and becomes a prayer for the victims. Movement IV, "Firestorm", employs not-traditional techniques to portray the fire storm, ending with the last sobs of the dying.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Symphony
• No.
• Daniel
• Bukvich
• Sioux
• Falls
• Washington
• High
• School
• Symphonic
• Band
• Pavilion
• Dresden
• Germany
• 1945
• Fire
• Storm
• Ave
• Maria
• Firestorm
• Incendiary
• Bomb
• Bombing

[APJleader]

the type of song that you dont clap and cheer for at the end...

[mistalovalova10]

last year we played the same arrangement, but in the 4th movement we switched the light off and we got a siren...it was so scary some people started cryin! It was unbelievable

[usaa300]

@lillysperson There are two :) I get to play o :D

[lillysperson]

is there a bassoon solo?

[frizz148]

ive played this year and the trumpet solo around 2:25 was a pain to play cuz the constant change in embochure

[hfontaine8]

@calvindef1, I played this in my sophomore year of high school in spring of '07 I believe, and I never fully appreciated the flute's C at the end until I listened to this again today. So haunting.

[hfontaine8]

The whistling still sends chills up my spine. whenever anyone whistles like that, this piece is all I think of and I get the creeps.

[hfontaine8]

I remember the day that my band directors sat us in the auditorium to hear an amazing recording of this full blast. I was 15 & was in tears by the end. We worked on the 1st 3 movements for a long time before we moved onto the 4th, & they played it for the 1st time @ a night rehearsal I didn't make it to. The next day in school, they started the 4th movement, and hearing the sounds surrounding me brought me to full fledged sobbing mode, I could not even participate. Still brings tears to my eyes.

[LadyeXo]

This is the piece that showed me how much I hate war. When we did it with the band at UGA, the recording was so beautiful, so /realistic/ I was shocked by the end of the fourth movement.

[DemonDrummerZukaZ]

Turns out after further discussion with my old band members and rewatching a video from the performance I was wrong, the screaming chord I heard during their performance was actually screams, but they all screamed at once and in the dark I thought it was their instruments at triple-forte playing some creepy chord. It was intense X_X

[DemonDrummerZukaZ]

@DemonDrummerZukaZ As a final note, this performance was outstanding. I just have witnessed a different ending. Thanks very much for posting, if I find a video taken from that night's performance I will post it for any who are curious to what I was talking about. :)

[DemonDrummerZukaZ]

@DemonDrummerZukaZ (myself) Also, my band turned off the stage and audience lights during the bombing and had bass drums positioned around and behind the audience for a surrounding effect. While the percussionists simulated the bombs being dropped the crew controlling the lights flashed white lights simulating a night-time bomb explosion. The conductor warned the audience before he started the performance but it really made the performance hit home. He conducted the chord w/ a light-up baton.