Eric Whitacre

Note from Composer

At the Midwest Band and Orchestra convention in 1996, Gary Green approached me about a possible commission for his wind ensemble at the University of Miami. I accepted, and the commission formally began July 1st, 1997. Two years later I still couldn’t show him a single note.

That’s not to say I hadn’t written anything. On the contrary, I had about 100 pages of material for three different pieces, but I wanted to give Gary something very special and just couldn’t find that perfect spark.

Around this time my great friend and fellow Juilliard composer Steven Bryant was visiting me in Los Angeles, and as I had just bought a new computer I was throwing out old sequencer files, most of them sketches and improvisational ideas. As I played one section Steve dashed into the room and the following conversation ensued:

Steve: “What the hell was that!?!”
Me: “Just an old idea I’m about to trash.”
Steve: “Mark my words, If you don’t use that I’m stealing it.”

The gauntlet had been thrown.

That was the spark, but it took me a full eight months to write the piece. There are a LOT of notes, and I put every one on paper (with pencil). I wanted to write a moto perpetuo, a piece that starts running and never stops (‘equus’ is the Latin word for horse) and would also be a virtuosic show piece for winds. The final result is something that I call “dynamic minimalism,” which basically means that I love to employ repetitive patterns as long as they don’t get boring. We finally premiered the piece in March 2000, nearly three years after the original commission date, and the University of Miami Wind Ensemble played the bejeezus out of it. Equus is dedicated to my friend Gary Green, the most passionate and patient conductor I know.

Optional chorus accompaniment parts are also available through Boosey & Hawkes.

Duration

9 minutes

Year of Composition

2012

Licensing

Boosey & Hawkes

Hire

Boosey & Hawkes

Note from Composer

At the Midwest Band and Orchestra convention in 1996, Gary Green approached me about a possible commission for his wind ensemble at the University of Miami. I accepted, and the commission formally began July 1st, 1997. Two years later I still couldn’t show him a single note.

That’s not to say I hadn’t written anything. On the contrary, I had about 100 pages of material for three different pieces, but I wanted to give Gary something very special and just couldn’t find that perfect spark.

Around this time my great friend and fellow Juilliard composer Steven Bryant was visiting me in Los Angeles, and as I had just bought a new computer I was throwing out old sequencer files, most of them sketches and improvisational ideas. As I played one section Steve dashed into the room and the following conversation ensued:

Steve: “What the hell was that!?!”
Me: “Just an old idea I’m about to trash.”
Steve: “Mark my words, If you don’t use that I’m stealing it.”

The gauntlet had been thrown.

That was the spark, but it took me a full eight months to write the piece. There are a LOT of notes, and I put every one on paper (with pencil). I wanted to write a moto perpetuo, a piece that starts running and never stops (‘equus’ is the Latin word for horse) and would also be a virtuosic show piece for winds. The final result is something that I call “dynamic minimalism,” which basically means that I love to employ repetitive patterns as long as they don’t get boring. We finally premiered the piece in March 2000, nearly three years after the original commission date, and the University of Miami Wind Ensemble played the bejeezus out of it. Equus is dedicated to my friend Gary Green, the most passionate and patient conductor I know.

The following amendements need to be made when performing the band parts with the accompanying choral parts.

1. Following composer revisions in 2012, please note re-barring and new time signatures from bar 131.
2. Band score and parts should be amended as below so they match SATB chorus scores:
   1. 131: now 5 bars of 3/4
   2. 136: now 1 bar of 4/4
   3. 136a: now 1 bar of 5/4 (2+3)
   4. From bar 137 onwards, score as written.
   5. I.E. This adds an extra bar; the new 5/4 = bar “136a”

Duration

9 minutes

Year of Composition

2000

Difficulty

Level 5

Licensing

Boosey & Hawkes

Purchase

US: Hal Leonard
UK: Musicroom
World: Music Shop Europe
Digital: Sheet Music Direct

Perusal Score

View

Note from Composer

At the Midwest Band and Orchestra convention in 1996, Gary Green approached me about a possible commission for his wind ensemble at the University of Miami. I accepted, and the commission formally began July 1st, 1997. Two years later I still couldn’t show him a single note.

That’s not to say I hadn’t written anything. On the contrary, I had about 100 pages of material for three different pieces, but I wanted to give Gary something very special and just couldn’t find that perfect spark.

Around this time my great friend and fellow Juilliard composer Steven Bryant was visiting me in Los Angeles, and as I had just bought a new computer I was throwing out old sequencer files, most of them sketches and improvisational ideas. As I played one section Steve dashed into the room and the following conversation ensued:

Steve: “What the hell was that!?!”
Me: “Just an old idea I’m about to trash.”
Steve: “Mark my words, If you don’t use that I’m stealing it.”

The gauntlet had been thrown.

That was the spark, but it took me a full eight months to write the piece. There are a LOT of notes, and I put every one on paper (with pencil). I wanted to write a moto perpetuo, a piece that starts running and never stops (‘equus’ is the Latin word for horse) and would also be a virtuosic show piece for winds. The final result is something that I call “dynamic minimalism,” which basically means that I love to employ repetitive patterns as long as they don’t get boring. We finally premiered the piece in March 2000, nearly three years after the original commission date, and the University of Miami Wind Ensemble played the bejeezus out of it. Equus is dedicated to my friend Gary Green, the most passionate and patient conductor I know.

The following amendements need to be made when performing the band parts with the accompanying choral parts.

1. Following composer revisions in 2012, please note re-barring and new time signatures from bar 131.
2. Band score and parts should be amended as below so they match SATB chorus scores:
   1. 131: now 5 bars of 3/4
   2. 136: now 1 bar of 4/4
   3. 136a: now 1 bar of 5/4 (2+3)
   4. From bar 137 onwards, score as written.
   5. I.E. This adds an extra bar; the new 5/4 = bar “136a”

Duration

9 minutes

Year of Composition

2012

Licensing

Boosey & Hawkes

Purchase

US: Hal Leonard
UK: Musicroom
World: Music Shop Europe