Thank You 2009 SCV

[cmathis]

Not to de-rail, but for those interested I have scans of my sheet music (lead soprano) from Garfield '87 up, here's the thread from the Brass forum: Brass Forum Thread

Or direct link to the scans: Appalachian Spring lead soprano music from Garfield Cadets, 1987

I can't wait to see SCV's show this year.

Awesome! Thanks!

[Kieren]

Saw the show the other night, and it was GOOD.

But...after watching Cadets 1987 so many times in the past few years since being introduced to it, it's hard NOT to see/hear Cadets doing AS. I can't imagine how difficult it is for people who have been listening to that show longer than I have been alive. And i can't imagine what it must be like for people who MARCHED it (in fact, I'd be interested in what you think).

As for the drill...it is not very good.

No, let me take that back.

It IS good drill....just not earth-shattering drill, and after teh past few years of SCV drill, I think we all have an idea of what it should of been, and are therefore a little disappointed.

I am sure that by the end of the year, the show will be great, but...after witnessing it live, it is NOT going to beat the Blue Devils. I'd be willing to wager on that.

Still, it will be a very good show that I will enjoy for many years. So, it's all good in the end.

[Lance]

Saw the show the other night, and it was GOOD.

But...after watching Cadets 1987 so many times in the past few years since being introduced to it, it's hard NOT to see/hear Cadets doing AS.

Try going just a few years back, and realize that SCV played App Spring in 83, 82, 77, and 76.

At the same time, realize that what the Cadets did barely even sounded like App Spring. I love that Cadets show, too, but the first thing that came to mind for me listening to SCV this year was how stunningly different it sounds than 87 Cadets.

[alto92]

As a diehard SCV fan/alum, SCV occupies the whole of my facility for sentimental feeling for drum corps. I only marched one year, but I love SCV in my own way. I can certainly appreciate what other corps contribute to DCI and love the diversity among the styles of the top corps, and the tradition of all corps. but again, SCV is where my heart is. I have that bias, but here's why I think almost EVERYONE will come to appreciate this show...something only few, special shows have been able to do of late.

The drill is perfect. Do certain issues need to be addressed? Absolutely, but as someone posted, I really don't think any major drill changes are in order for this show to be successful, even competitively. There is plenty of subtlety to go around: the way Webber's drill almost always directly reflects the nuance in the music, be it rhymic, melodic, or even harmonic. Except for very few transitional moments (which I think/hope will be fixed), the drill almost always supports the music in a very 'musically interpreted' way, perhaps Webber and Key's vision of Martha Graham's choreography and Copland's score.

Key Poulan has been quoted on these boards as saying, this was 'never meant to be an in your face kind of show', but that doesn't mean that this show lacks impact. You just have to be willing to accept the climaxes of the original piece. The climaxes start off small, and get bigger and bigger as the show goes on, until we get the supreme release of tension we all know and love as Simple Gifts. A company front is just that - a really freakin loud gift.

The ending HAS to change, and it will. Probably a few times.

It's my belief that if the audience and judges see it the way I do, this group, SCV 09, could have an amazing year, (as could we, as fans) and a set of memories that will last through their entire life.

To respect the surprise of viewing this beautiful corps live, I'd rather not give specifics, rather that you view or interpret the show or events in the show on your own first (as I like to).

I will tell you that you will find a spring under your ### the minute they hit the company front.

GO 'SC!

Edited June 22, 2009 by alto92

[Kieren]

Try going just a few years back, and realize that SCV played App Spring in 83, 82, 77, and 76.

At the same time, realize that what the Cadets did barely even sounded like App Spring. I love that Cadets show, too, but the first thing that came to mind for me listening to SCV this year was how stunningly different it sounds than 87 Cadets.

I've been seeing this argument a lot lately (that SCV did AP before Cadets), and while that is fact...what is the first corps that comes to mind when you say:

Malaguena?

Was it Scouts? And yet, according to corpsreps, the Cambridge Caballeros were the first to do it.

New World Symphony?

Most people would say Phantom, but a whole lot of corps did it before Phantom.

SCV may have done Appalachian Spring, but Cadets OWNED that piece (and i mean that in the current version of the word, not in the "No one else should ever do it" version).

What I don't get is how 87 Cadets "barely even sounded like App Spring." I have a recording of the original...and it sounds pretty darned faithful to me. Maybe I'm not listening in the right places.

[Lance]

Like I said, SCV did it just a few years before The Cadets. It's fine that you think what the Cadets did was faithful to the original. I disagree, and so do many others.

I was as disappointed as anybody when I heard SCV was doing App Spring because it could be trite. I was thinking it was going to be yet another arrangement that works well on the field, but with all of the meaty parts given to the pit, the key changed significantly, and in short barely sounding like the original.

SCV proved me wrong, and I'm a happy camper because of it.

[alto92]

I've been seeing this argument a lot lately (that SCV did AP before Cadets), and while that is fact...what is the first corps that comes to mind when you say:

Malaguena?

Was it Scouts? And yet, according to corpsreps, the Cambridge Caballeros were the first to do it.

New World Symphony?

Most people would say Phantom, but a whole lot of corps did it before Phantom.

SCV may have done Appalachian Spring, but Cadets OWNED that piece (and i mean that in the current version of the word, not in the "No one else should ever do it" version).

What I don't get is how 87 Cadets "barely even sounded like App Spring." I have a recording of the original...and it sounds pretty darned faithful to me. Maybe I'm not listening in the right places.

I don't know. I heard SCV's versions first. I associate A.S. with Vanguard first, not because they did it first, but because they did it 4 times in a SHORT span of time. I would imagine a lot of people were surprised to learn that Garfield were doing something that SCV had done 4 times in the previous 11 years.

The shape of the original is more in the shape of Vanguard's show, which is essentially one big huge crescendo. Garfield's is constructed differently. 'Barely even sounded' is hyperbole, but Lance is right. I think if you want to consciously capture the essence of a 35 minute piece in 11 minutes, one of the best things to do is mimic the overall shape of the piece, since Copland, in writing for a Ballet, had to think about shape as an integral part of its aesthetic. Garfield's arrangement used its own shape which makes is drastically different in my eyes.

Edited June 22, 2009 by alto92

[frachel]

Like I said, SCV did it just a few years before The Cadets. It's fine that you think what the Cadets did was faithful to the original. I disagree, and so do many others.

Early on in '87 (at least up to a few weeks before tour started) it was much more faithful to the original. Check out the music I linked to on page 7 to see some of the music as it was. I think its a hard piece to stay very faithful to in the drum corps medium due to the lack of "in your face" parts, which seems to be the main issue people have brought up with SCV's version (8 minutes you are 'wanting' something more, then you get it), though that's truer to the original.

In the end we all have our favorites for whatever reasons. Obviously I'm geared towards Garfield '87 because it was personal for me (and tragic as well), but I am very much looking forward to SCV this year as well.

[Jeff Ream]

Santa Clara played Appalachian Spring in '76, '77, '82, and '83. I remember Dave Owens telling me that we have done all we could with that music, at least in that era I suppose. Let's see what the judges have to say. And as for drill rewrites, there is only about 6 weeks of the season, so that does not allow for too much rewriting. It best be done well at first and allowed to be cleaned.

except that the majority of the corps do massive rewrites along the way and it works out fine.

[Kieren]

Like I said, SCV did it just a few years before The Cadets. It's fine that you think what the Cadets did was faithful to the original. I disagree, and so do many others.

Well, I'm glad you think its fine.

I've been listening to it ever since I read the original post...

Now, granted, concessions had to be made because you can't field a 25-minute long tune on the field, meaning Cadets had to cut more than half of the music.

However...they did a great job of interpreting it faithfully and honestly...heck, they did a better job with that aspect of it than Phantom did with the New World Symphony, I think (last I checked, the fourth movement of New World does NOT begin with a big ol' honking timpani solo...oh boy, i just opened upa big can of worms didn't i?)

After listening to it again (both the original and the Cadets version), the only real differences I can tell are:

+ The opening was drastically cut, and Cadets moved the Simple Gifts big statement to the front to help "punch it up."

+The Cadets removed the moderato section (part 3), which is about 3 minutes.

+The Cadets removed a chunk of the Subito Allegro section (part 5), about 2 minutes' worth (but kept the best parts).

+The Cadets removed the entire 6th section, ("slowly, as at first")

+And of course, most famously, they added the tag at the end of the show.

Thanks to DCI's Fan Video, I also listened to SCV 1977, which comes nowhere near the faithfulness of Cadets 1987.

I'm genuinely curious as to what parts you think are not faithful, or why specifically the show is not accurate...not looking for a flame war, I am really curious, because I have the opposite opinion and want to make sure I am not crazy!