There must be a Lone Ranger!
Karen P. Thomas
About this work:
PROGRAM NOTE:
A few years ago, in the course of considering my ignominious past – a childhood filled with Country & Western music and too much TV – I realized that I rather liked some of that directness and simple imagery. So, as composers are wont to do, I put on my cowboy boots and wrote about it. The result was a song cycle, Cowboy Songs, on texts by e e cummings.
There must be a Lone Ranger! is a continuation of those earlier cowboy pieces. The sources for the text include 19th century cowboy songs, cowboy poetry and newspaper articles, a poem by e e cummings (“sam was a man”), and a few things I wrote myself. Within it are the mythical heroes of childhood: the Lone Ranger, Calamity Jane, Billy the Kid…
PERFORMANCE NOTES:
There must be a Lone Ranger! is intended for staged or semi-stanged concert performance. Props are encouraged, but not necessary; however, lighting is required. The Narrator may be invisible or partially visible to the audience. The singing role may be performed by a soprano or mezzo-soprano – acting ability being the prime consideration.
The score is notated in C, the only transposition being piccolo at the octave.
Percussion requirements (1 player):
Vibraphone
Xylophone
Glockenspiel
2 timpani
Snare drum
3 tomtoms
5 Chinese temple blocks
2 wood blocks
Suspended cymbal
Triangle
Castanets
Gun shot (or slapstick)
Soprano (or mezzo-soprano) plays harmonica.
Pianist (or other member of the ensemble) plays folk guitar.
Year composed: 1987
Duration: 00:20:00
Ensemble type: Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble:Two or More Solo Voices with Chamber/Jazz Ensemble 6-9 players
Instrumentation: 1 Flute, 1 Trumpet, 1 Percussion (General), 1 Piano, 1 Violin, 1 Cello, 1 Narrator
Instrumentation notes: S (or Mz), Nar, fl, tpt, vln, vc, pno, perc