Beyond the Horizon Novellette No.2 (Score only / If you need parts, please contact the composer.)

Composed by Ken’ichi Masakado Grade : 3.5 Duration : ca. 6’10”

Program Note Composed for Nishi-Fukuoka Junior High School Band (Fukuoka, Japan) in early 2006. The name "Novellette No.2" was chosen because it was a follow-up to "Novellette" composed for the same band the year before. In this work, the composer did not express a specific story, event, or scene. This is because the composer wants each player to be free to create his or her own story as he or she wishes. Nevertheless, the composer gave the piece a title that reminded me of a story, "Beyond the Horizon". At the beginning of 2006, when the composer was composing this piece, he moved from Fukuoka Prefecture, his home town to Oita Prefecture to become the Director and Conductor of the Oita Prefectural Police Band. In the center of Oita Prefecture, "Beppu Bay" spreads out. The view from the hill overlooking Beppu Bay is one of his favorite scenes. He says, "When I saw this scene, I felt a link between my desire to support the students' "voyage to the future" through this piece and my own desire to embark on a new journey". The structure of the work is quite simple. After a prelude reminiscent of "dawn," the signal for "sailing" rings out loudly, and the ship sets off. It is a joyous voyage, but the 7/8 time signature and the sometimes rapidly changing time signature imply the severity of the voyage. The harshness of the voyage is not limited to the "raging sea". There are times when we feel "lonely" or "lost" (the middle part of this piece may be one of those feelings). But eventually, there is a glimmer of hope, come on, look forward! (The composer did not include the mottoes for the performance in the score in detail, so the performer can create his own story by reading the above explanation.) The range of each instrument has been carefully considered so that it can be played by junior high school students, and each voice part has been orchestrated thickly so that the "color" of the band's characteristics can be brought out.