The Hallucinogenic Toreador from Dreams of Dalí
Instrumentation:
Piccolo
2 Flutes (minimum 4 players preferred
2 Oboes
English Horn
4 Bb Clarinet (minimum 8 players preferred)
Bb Bass Clarinet
2 Bassoons
Contrabassoon
Bb Soprano Saxophone
Eb Alto Saxophone
Bb Tenor Saxophone
Eb Baritone Saxophone
4 F Horns
4 C Trumpets
3 Tenor Trombones
Bass Trombone
2 Euphoniums
Tuba (minimum 2 players preferred)
Timpani (five drums)
Percussion (5 players, instruments are not shared unless indicated otherwise):
Percussion 1: Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Very Large Woodblock, Very Large Whip, Small Ratchet, Large Crash Cymbals
Percussion 2: Vibraphone, Bell Tree, Chimes (shared with Percussion 4)
Percussion 3: Marimba (five octaves preferred), Suspended Cymbal, 2 Flexatones, Large Gong, Claves
Percussion 4: Suspended Cymbal, Chimes (shared with Percussion 2), Claves, Vibraslap, Piccolo Snare Drum, Small Gong
Percussion 5: 2 Large Shakers, Suspended Cymbal, Metal Wind Chimes, Castanets (on stand), Crotale (C# and E), Tambourine, Concert Bass Drum
Piano
Contrabass (2 players preferred)
Publisher: Michael Daugherty Music
Duration: 11 minutes
World Premiere: April 13, 2024/University of Florida/Wind Symphony/Gainesville. Florida/ David Waybright, conductor
Program Note:
The Hallucinogenic Toreador (2024) for Symphonic Band is the fourth and final movement of Dreams of Dalí, which was commissioned by the University of Florida to commemorate David Waybright’s 38 years as Director of Bands at the University of Florida School of Music.
Renowned as the leader of the Surrealist movement, Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) was known for incorporating shocking subject matter in his artwork while exploring eccentric, subconscious imagery from real and imagined dreams. Divided into four movements, my composition is a musical reflection on the unique art and flamboyant life of Salvador Dalí.
Considered Salvador Dalí’s last great Surrealist painting, The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1970) depicts death and resurrection in the Spanish bullfighting ring. Regarding death, Dalí declared in a 1958 CBS television interview, “I believe in general in death, but in the death of Dalí, absolutely not!” When Dalí died at the age of 84 alone in his castle in Púbol, it is said that he was listening to a recording of Wagner’s tragic opera, Tristan und Isolde.
–Michael Daugherty
Salvador Dalí (1904-1989)
