Alpine Memories

ALPINE MEMORIES is a fantasy on traditional folksongs from the alpine region of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. A grade 3 piece for band, it was premiered in January of 2018 by the 9^th and 10^th-grade Hillsborough all-county band in Tampa, FL. The premiere performance was conducted by my longtime friend, Dr. Justin Mertz. Justin and I met during my undergrad at Syracuse University when he took a post as the Assistant Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands. Justin was one of the first people to encourage my curiosity as a composer, programming several of my arrangements during his more than ten years with Syracuse’s Pride of the Orange Marching Band. I will always be grateful for his belief in me.

My wife, a first-generation German-American, grew up visiting Germany with her family. On one such trip, she purchased an anthology of Germanic folk music called Das groß Buch der Volkslieder or The Big Book of Folksongs. I spent several days playing through the book’s many melodies at the piano, sketching some of them for winds, eventually honing in on three for this work.

Why this piece? I’ve always admired band music based on folksongs, especially that of Gustav Holst, Percy Aldridge Grainger, Pierre LaPlante, and Clare Grundman. I’ve also had the opportunity to visit the European Alps, and have grown quite fond of German culture ever since. In fact, I enjoy German food (and beer) so much I tend to seek out German restaurants wherever I travel including once in Sydney, Australia!

The piece begins with a brief introduction derived from Deutschlandlied, the German national anthem. In E-flat major, the band should be able to present a sonority that is strong, confident, and prideful.

The first folk tune presented thereafter is Oh du lieber Augustin.

O, you dear Augustin, Augustin, Augustin,
O, you dear Augustin, all is lost!
Money’s gone, girlfriend’s gone, all is lost, Augustin!
O, you dear Augustin, all is lost!
Coat is gone, staff is gone, Augustin lies in the dirt.
O, you dear Augustin, all is lost!
Even that rich town Vienna, Broke it is like Augustin;
Shed tears with thoughts akin, all is lost!
Every Day was a feast, now we just have the plague!
Just a great corpse’s feast, that is the rest.
Augustin, Augustin, Lie down in your grave!
O, you dear Augustin, all is lost!

Oh du lieber Augustin

Though a bit morbid in subject, the treatment of this tune is much more positive. A polka-like “oom-pah-pah” persists throughout over which melodic material flows. Respecting the grotesque nature of the legend of Augustine, a Viennese musician who was nearly buried alive, the third iteration of the tune is in the relative minor. This section climaxes after modulating to a recapitulation in F major.

A playful transition settles in the parallel minor where the second section begins, the source for which is Zu Mantua in Banden (also known as Das Andreas Hofer Lied).  The anthem of Tyrol, an Austrian state, this song pays homage to Andreas Hofer, the leader of an early 19thcentury rebellion who was put to death by Napoleon. The woodwind and brass-choirs alternate statements before the full ensemble swells to a passionate climax in A-flat major.

At Mantua bound the loyal Hofer was.
At Mantua into death his enemies him led.
With bleeding hearts his brothers were,
All of Germany dishonoured and in pain
And with it its land Tyrol, and with it its land Tyrol.

Zu Mantua in Banden

Augustin’s theme briefly returns one final time via clarinet duet before the third and final section of the piece abruptly begins. Suddenly in B-flat major, a piccolo solo introduces the closing tune, Krambambuli, an 18th-century German fraternity drinking song. True to its origins, the treatment of this song is boisterous, jovial and highly spirited.

Krambambuli is the name,
Of the drink, which is preserved with us;
It is a very effective remedy,
If we suffer evil.
In the later evening in the early morning,
I drink my glass of krambambuli,
Kram-bim-bam-bambuli, Krambambuli.

Krambambuli

The piece comes to a dramatic close after a rapid accelerando. The Presto (m. 212) should be played as fast as possible without sacrificing accuracy, providing a riveting end for all to enjoy.

To learn more about the composer, please visit Michael J. Miller Music, L.L.C.