Land of the Midnight Sun: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts
By Robert Buckley
Grade: 4
Item: 35-PK00272207
$75.00
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Description
"Land of the Midnight Sun" is a cinematic, musical journey depicting the awe-inspiring expanse of the far north and the raw beauty of this magnificent panorama. The piece opens with the breaking of the ice and the warming of the land. Featuring a lyrical trumpet or flugelhorn solo, a rich and reverent brass chorale and a luminescent woodwind choir, the music ebbs and flows and builds to a celebration of light. Full of lush colors and sweeping melodies, this will give any ensemble an opportunity to soar! Dur: 6:00
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Additional Details
Publisher:
Hal Leonard
SKU:
35-PK00272207
More about this title
Why we love this
Buckley crafts a piece that feels cinematic without requiring a film to justify it. The structural arc from ice-breaking opening through lyrical solo passages to a full ensemble celebration gives your band a genuine dramatic journey to execute, and that built-in narrative clarity helps younger ensembles understand phrasing and dynamic shape naturally.
What to expect
Expansive and contemplative. The music moves from stark, quiet beginnings through warmer, more intimate moments before opening into brilliant light. You'll hear rich harmonic colors throughout, with woodwind textures that shimmer and brass writing that embraces both lyricism and power.
Who it's for
Grade 4 bands ready to program something that demands musical maturity without technical virtuosity. This works especially well for ensembles with solid fundamentals and at least one capable brass soloist. Conductors seeking a crowd-pleasing, rewarding piece that doesn't sacrifice artistry for accessibility will find a strong partner here.
How to get the most out of it
- Shape the opening ice-breaking material with subtle dynamic swells in the woodwinds and low brass; this section sets the visual landscape, so resist the urge to play it too forcefully.
- Balance the trumpet or flugelhorn solo against the accompanying voices by asking the soloist to play with a singing quality rather than projecting over the band. Let the ensemble support rather than compete.
- Draw out the brass chorale's warmth by requesting a legit, connected tone from your brass section; this passage deserves the reverence the score asks for, and clean articulation will undercut that goal.
- Build momentum gradually across the final celebration section. Resist front-loading the dynamics; let the music earn its climax through accumulated phrase work and orchestration density.
How to use it
Open a spring concert with this to establish a tone of sophistication and visual storytelling. Its 6-minute runtime gives you flexibility in pacing longer programs, and the piece pairs naturally with other concert band literature that values melody and color over technical display.
Skills your students will build
- Sustained legit phrasing across longer melodic lines
- Dynamic shape and control within ensemble sections
- Balance between solo and accompanying voices
- Expressive interpretation of programmatic content
- Controlled crescendos and decrescendos across full band