Austin Symphonic Band ( https://austinsymphonicband.org/ ). April 14, 2024. ASB performing (Delusions of) Grandeur, Op. 51 by Christopher Lowry. [NOTE: Click 'more' to read the program notes.] Music Director Dr. Kyle R. Glaser conducting. "Old, New, Borrowed, Blue" concert at the Connally HS Performing Arts Center in Austin, TX.

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Video and Sound Production: Eddie Jennings

From the program notes written by David Cross:
(Delusions of) Grandeur for Symphonic Wind Band, Opus 51 (2024)
Christopher Lowry (b. 1988)

Program note from the composer:
While looking for inspiration for this piece, the word ‘grandeur’ kept getting stuck in my head. I often associate the word with the feeling of awe that comes with looking at the beauty of nature or observing the expansiveness of the night sky.

Apart from any formal definition or related associations, the word has always brought to my mind two specific things: the sonnet “God’s Grandeur,” written in 1877 by the English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, and ‘delusions of grandeur,’ one of the key traits of narcissism. I’ll come back to the second of those a little later, but I first encountered “God’s Grandeur” in a creative writing class in high school, in which all students were assigned to write a detailed analysis of each line of the poem, observing symbolism and any poetic devices used to emphasize certain points. The poem has always stuck with me as a poignant example not just of one’s relationship and devotion to a chosen deity, but also of the beauty and spiritual significance of nature and the tragedy of humanity disrespecting and destroying it over time.

(Delusions of) Grandeur exists as a way of summing all of this up in one neat, semi-programmatic package. The piece is divided into two sections, the first of which is a reflection on the word and idea of ‘grandeur’ itself. A mini-overture of sorts, this section develops one theme, which is expansive, flowing, and harmonically open, akin to a folk tune. Introduced first by a solo flute over ringing and fluttering chime-like tones, this melody develops canonically, contrapuntally, and timbrally as it builds in intensity and instrumentation, showing that grandeur can be calm, spacious, anxious, and even terrifying, rather than just blatantly resplendent.

The full brass section heralds the beginning of the second section of the piece, which is essentially a dramatic musical interpretation of Hopkins’s poem. There are clear sounds of the charging of the world, flaming out ‘like shining from shook foil,’ a gathering to greatness, and the ‘ooze of oil crushed.’ This phrase ends with an admonishment of humanity for losing sight of purpose and reverence for the beauty and importance of nature. The first stanza of the poem is broken up by a wandering second theme—the ‘contemplation theme,’ played first by a solo alto clarinet and then by a euphonium. This tune, which is somewhat based on the ‘grandeur theme,’ calls everything into question as time goes on, symbolizing the universal conflict between faith and logic, nature and industry, individualism and community. This leads back into the poem with a march representing generation after generation trodding along, transitioning to hectic quasi-fugal writing punctuated with the clinking and clanging of chains and anvils—the sounds of endless trade and toil.

The sun sets over the barren soil, but nature’s resilience holds true as the sun rises again, and ‘morning springs’ up as the piece reaches its climax—the ‘grandeur theme’ in its full realization. As the energy dissipates, the chiming sounds from the beginning return, and the theme is played once more while the sounds of ‘bright wings’ can be heard, lifting the ensemble higher and higher into the ether.

Though not meant to be an overtly religious piece, it does aim to represent the poem through both sacred and secular lenses, questioning why man has turned away from his beliefs as well as why humans have done so much to destroy the beauty and majesty of the earth. While writing this piece, I consistently reminded myself that I, in addition to anything I write, am quite insignificant in comparison to the grandness of the planet and beyond; so, there’s also a self-aware irony to the piece, which aims to portray a certain sonic grandeur, with the caveat that to consider anything we create as ‘grand’ in the greater scheme of things would be in and of itself a delusion of grandeur.

See the first comment for the poem.

Listen for:
• Imaginative use of solo instruments such as flute, flugelhorn, alto clarinet and euphonium.
• Direct quotes to Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy.