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UNT Wind Symphony: In the World of Spirits by Bruce Broughton

4,636 views · Published 29 September 2015 · 11:02 · Indexed 26 September 2026

Channel: University of North Texas College Concerts · 2015 · Music

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UNT Wind Symphony
Eugene Migliaro Corporon, Conductor

In the World of Spirits (2011) by Bruce Broughton (b. 1945), UNT Composition Faculty

"In the World of Spirits was inspired by a paragraph found in Empire of the Summer Moon, a book by S.C. Gwynne about the rise and fall of the Comanches. In it, the author describes the life of the Plains Indian as 'a world...of pure magic, of beaver ceremonies and eagle dances, of spirits that inhabited springs, trees, rocks, turtles, and crows; a place where people danced all night and sang bear medicine songs, where wolf medicine made a person invulnerable to bullets, dream visions dictated tribal policy, and ghosts were alive in the wind...in the mystical cycles of the seasons, living in that random, terrifying, bloody, and intensely alive place where nature and divinity became one.'

"In the World of Spirits is not a depiction of a specific spirit world, but instead a representation to some degree of the energy in the world of the spirit. It is the world of motion, of action, of feeling, of terror, of excitement. In short, it is the engine that drives the physical world and in which all things move and live.

"Musically, the piece relies upon two main themes. The first one, which features a short burst of repeated notes followed by many leaping phrases, is initially hinted at in the flutes after a short introduction, and then presented in its entirety soon afterwards with the flutes and oboes. The second theme is much more declamatory and pompous, stated often with the brass, chimes and trilling woodwinds. These two themes interact to create the basic fast/slow/fast rhapsodic structure of the piece.

"Although there is no story or program to the piece, In the World of Spirits is an attempt at a sort of 'visual music,' music that stimulates by its musical association various visual and dramatic images for the listener, i.e., ballet without the dancers or a movie without the screen.

"In the World of Spirits was commissioned by and is dedicated to Dr. Scott A. Stewart and the Emory Wind Ensemble."
—Bruce Broughton

Recorded live September 24, 2015
Winspear Hall
Murchison Performing Arts Center
College of Music
University of North Texas
Video by UNT Recording Services

https://brucebroughton.com/
https://music.unt.edu/composition/index.html
https://music.unt.edu/windstudies
https://recording.music.unt.edu/

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