Velvet Waves

2023
9 minutes
Grade 5

The title of this piece is my description of a very rare type of cloud called asperitas (formerly called undulatus asperatus, which is Latin for roughened waves). Described as smooth and wavy, asperitas clouds usually appear dark in color like the average storm cloud, but they almost always come and go without any storms forming at all.  Velvet Waves represents the unique, ominous beauty and sheer magnitude of the asperitas cloud.

  • 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons, 4 Clarinets in B-flat, Bass Clarinet in B-flat, Contrabass Clarinet in B-flat, 2 Alto Saxophones in E-flat, Tenor Saxophone in B-flat, Baritone Saxophone in E-flat

  • 4 Trumpets in B-flat, 4 Horns in F, 3 Tenor Trombones, Bass Trombone, 2 Euphoniums, 2 Tubas

  • Double Bass, Timpani, 5 Percussion

    • Percussion 1: Glockenspiel, Vibraphone

    • Percussion 2: Crotales, Triangle

    • Percussion 3: Bass Drum

    • Percussion 4: Tam-tam

    • Percussion 5: Suspended Cymbal

Instrumentation:

Score: $15
Score and Parts: $140
View Perusal Score

Read and recorded by the Illinois State University Wind Symphony, May 2023

Velvet Waves (ISU Wind Symphony)
Peyton Gray