Conductor Leonard Slatkin described Ron Nelson (1929-2023) thusly: “Nelson is the quintessential American composer. He has the ability to move between conservative and newer styles with ease. The fact that he’s a little hard to categorize is what makes him interesting.” This quality has helped Nelson gain wide recognition as a composer. Nowhere are his works embraced more than in the band world, where he won the “triple crown” of composition prizes in 1993 for his Passacaglia (Homage on B-A-C-H). An Illinois native, Nelson received his composition training at the Eastman School of Music and went on to a distinguished career on the faculty of Brown University.
Nelson wrote Resonances I in 1990 on a commission from the Department of Music at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. It is a unique piece in several ways. First, there are elements of indeterminacy from the first note. Events do unfold in a particular order, but with a lot of wiggle room for how exactly they line up. Second, the piece is structured in six “units”, each of which intensifies towards a big climax (and the first introduction of a single ensemble tempo) in unit VI. Finally, the instrumentation is unusual: all flute players must play piccolo, eight clarinets are required, the percussion section is enormous, and there are optional parts for choir and organ. On top of that, the ensemble sings, and much of the brass performs the piece from offstage. The effect is at first murky, then truly powerful. This COVID-era performance from the University of Indianapolis captures this effect:
For a non-COVID performance, here is another option:
For more on this piece, head to the Wind Repertory Project, Alfred Music, and the Journal of Band Research. To read up on the composer, visit his website, Wikipedia, the Wind Repertory Project, and the Kennedy Center.