Instrumentation
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Publisher
Peermusic Classical, BMI (Americas and Asia)
Faber Music (Europe, Australia and New Zealand)

Duration
11 minutes

World Premiere
February 2000 / National Conference of the College Band Directors National Association, Austin, TX / University of Texas Wind Ensemble / Jerry Junkin

Program Note

Red Cape Tango (1993) for large chamber ensemble

V. Red Cape Tango was composed after Superman's fight to the death with Doomsday, and is my final musical work based on the Superm an mythology. The principal melody, first heard in the bassoon, is derived from the medieval Latin death chant Dies irae. This dance of death is conceived as a tango, presented at times like a concertino comprising string quintet, brass trio, bassoon, chimes, and castanets. The tango rhythm, introduced by the castanets and heard later in the finger cymbals, undergoes a gradual timbral transformation, concluding dramatically with crash cymbals, brake drum, and timpani. The orchestra alternates between legato and staccato sections to suggest a musical bullfight.

                                                                                                    --Michael Daugherty

For more information on Michael Daugherty' music visit:
Boosey & Hawkes
Peermusic Classical
Faber Music
American Composers Forum
Michael Daugherty Music