Awakening Dawn

Description

This captivating work for concert band by Gene Milford is a tribute to the band standards of old. Beautifully scored with rich textures and nostalgic harmonies, this melodically driven piece is fit for any concert performance or festival adjudication setting. Gene has truly knocked this one out of the park.

Program Notes

“Awakening Dawn” is a set of variations on a folk song from the Appalachian Mountain region of the United States. The song was collected by Cecil Sharp at Allanstand, North Carolina, and published in “English Folk Songs From the Southern Mountains” by Olive Dame Campbell and Cecil James Sharp by G. P. Putnam’s Sons (1917). The song selected from the collection is the ballad “Awake! Awake!”

Awake! Awake! You drowsy sleeper,
Awake! Awake! It’s almost day;
How can you lie and slumber
And your true love going far away?