Buffalo native Rossano Galante (b. 1967) is known for several short, energetic overtures for band including The Redwoods, Resplendent Glory, and Transcendent Journey. He studied with Jerry Goldsmith at the prestigious film scoring program at the University of Southern California. He continues to receive commissions from bands around the United States and to work as an orchestrator of film scores.
Galante wrote Raise of the Son in 1998. From the score:
Galante likes music with variety and a lot of climaxes. “With Raise, I wanted something to rise and fall and then rise again to exhibit a splendid reaffirmation of the work’s best moments.” There are two primary themes with a recapitulation of the first.
The title is a play on words. Without seeing the words, one would think of the morning sunrise and transcendent sun’s rays. Upon seeing the words, however, one is immediately drawn to the Resurrection. Both are very stimulating and dramatic images and fit nicely into the overall feeling of the music.
With its opening fanfare, the work evolves to an intense climax only to withdraw to a more melodic and flowing second theme. At precisely the right moment, the second theme builds once more a final uplifting climax as in raising of the son, or sun.
Galante’s most extensive biography exists on Alfred. He also has an IMDb page.
This band takes Raise of the Son at exactly the right tempo. Any faster, and the 32nd-note subdivisions that pop up throughout the piece become nearly impossible to play either accurately or musically. Any slower, and it loses the forward energy that it needs.
This piece is a senior choice for bassoonist Jimmy Caldarese ’13.