Mark Fonder
A History and Analysis of Albert Roussel's
A Glorius Day, Op.48

 

Mark Fonder, professor of music, is the conductor of the Ithaca College Concert Band, Ithaca, New York, and has been teaching conducting and instrumental music education courses at Ithaca College since 1989. He is active as a guest conductor, adjudicator, school music consultant, and clinician throughout the United States. Dr. Fonder is a graduate of Lawrence University and a two-time fellowship recipient at the University of Illinois. Internationally, he has guest conducted, given research presentations or adjudicated bands in Austria, Japan, Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom. He has written over 30 articles on bands and music education and has been published in various journals including the Music Educators Journal, Winds, Instrumentalist, Journal of Band Research, and the Journal of Research in Music Education. He was chair of the Music Educators Journal Editorial Committee from 1998-2002 and is currently editor of the Journal of Historical Research in Music Education.




A History and Analysis of Albert Roussel's A Glorius Day, Op.48
14th July 2005 (12:30 to 1:30pm)

In response to American bandmaster Edwin Franko Goldman's encouragement, French composer Albert Roussel (1869-1937) wrote a rarely heard and little known original work for wind band entitled A Glorious Day, op. 48. Durand & Cie, the work's publisher claims they published only one version. However, Roussel's biographers claimed two versions; one for American bands and one for French bands. Through thorough research spanning two continents, the two versions were located and are compared in this presentation. Facsimile copies of the original condensed score manuscript and the full score manuscript are examined and presented with a focus on rehearsing and performing this work. This work is an important part of the repertoire because it represents the efforts of a composer regarded as the most important French composer between the wars. He passed away soon after its completion, making it one of the last compositions from the pen of this French master.