Rundel Video: Silva Nigra | Media center

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Szenen aus dem Schwarzwald
The protagonists of symphonic wind music today find themselves confronted with certain tensions which result from the problems of orientation in terms of content and form. Modernists, who see their writing in the context of the experimental development of the traditions of the 2nd Viennese School represented by Schönberg and his pupils, try to link wind music to currents of contemporary music and are forced to recognise the fact that audiences accept their music as reluctantly as the listeners of so-called classical concerts are prepared to embrace extremely modern music. Other composers attempt to achieve a certain popularity by allowing themselves to be pulled along by the mainstream of rock and pop and trying to adapt these styles to the wind ensemble. Adaptations of the music of John Williams or Henry Mancini are also popular.

A fourth possibility is the linkage to thematic, harmonic and tonal structures such as can be found in the music of Richard Strauss or Gustav Mahler and the application of such compositional principles to the modern wind ensemble. Composers who choose this path need not be seen a priori as mere traditionalists and imitators, as it is exactly this musical epoch which is under-represented in symphonic wind literature and the tonal and interpretative possibilities of late Romantic or Impressionist works have not yet been recognised at all.

It is just these traditions which Markus Götz refers to in his work "Silva Nigra". In every bar of his composition the listener can sense that he is not only an expert in his experience of wind music parameters, but must also be a brilliant teacher who knows exactly how amateurs or young people can be attracted to music in the first place and what intensity of expression they are capable of achieving. The work was commissioned by the wind ensemble Trachtenkapelle Sankt. Märgen in the Black Forest.

The composer writes about his work: "The idea is a musical commentary on impressions from the region around St. Märgen in the form of a series of musical images."

The individual sections are entitled "The day awakens" - "A misty morning" - "The mist dissolves" - "View of the valley" - "Off on a hike" - "Encounter at the monastery" -"Visit to the Horse Festival".

The beginning is marked by a hovering, swishing cymbal roll and, above it, a sweetly melancholy-sounding horn call which, soon echoed as a canon by the trumpet, will become the main theme of the entire composition. The whole work is based on this Black Forest motif and forms a broad series of variations during which the motif undergoes manifold adaptations and reinterpretations. Götz employs elements of folksong and the Gregorian chanting of psalms in order to illustrate the various scenes to the listener. Dance sections contrast with passages of an expressive religious character. The sounds of nature are imitated by the music, and of course the famous Black Forest cuckoo cannot be left out. Nevertheless, all these elements are subject to a strict form without drifting off into sentimentality or mere onomatopoeia. The entire work is imbued with the stillness of the renowned Black Forest, which finds special mention in a brief passage in which the musicians express their praise in song. This work for advanced-level ensembles not only lends expression to a specific regional atmosphere, but can also form a significant contribution to any wind concert.


Grade Level GB: 6-7
Grade Level USA: 4 (Advanced)
Composer: Götz, Markus
Genre: Concert Piece
Performance time: 00:10:54
Publisher: Rundel
Size: A4
Info: Full Score + Parts
Rundel Order Number: MVSR2534
Release Date: 2007