A New Orleans Symphony, mvt. 3 - Lament

Grade level: 5

Premiere info: Minnesota Symphonic Winds, Timothy Mahr, conductor

Duration: 5:00

Published by C. Alan Publications

Program Note: 

This music represents the pain, despair, and disillusionment of the city in the wake of the storm.  The melodic material at the beginning of this movement is derived from fragments from the funeral procession from the first movement and from the storm melody from the second movement.  Mournful solos by the euphonium, french horn, and soprano saxophone lead us into another statement of the Nettleton hymn tune, this time transformed into a minor key.  Finally, the movement ends with the low brass and woodwinds playing repeated descending chords while the "heartbeat" that is played by the piano slows down separately from the rest of the ensemble and dies away.