Fantasia (2019) 
on “Highland Cathedral”
for saxophone quartet

Premiered August 2019 at a private wedding in Metchosin, Canada
B.T. Williams Quartet

In 2019, a dear friend hired the currently-defunct B.T. Williams Quartet and I to provide music for her wedding. In addition to helping put together programs of various classical and pop hits for their ceremony and reception, I composed this short piece to act as a recessional, as the conventional wedding repertoire lacked a certain personal resonance for the occasion.

A set of free variations on the Highland bagpipe tune, “Highland Cathedral,” the work takes inspiration the formative bonding my friend and I experienced in high school concert and jazz bands, as well as whatever the opposite of bonding is, regarding her adoration of bagpipe music. (The B.T. Williams Quartet had spent many summers jockeying against strident pipers for the prime busking locations in Victoria’s Inner Harbour, and I had worked nearby, within earshot of too many dubious renditions of “Scotland the Brave.”) The bride and groom got engaged while travelling Europe, in an ancient Scottish church where ancestors of the bride had once been married, so this particular melody seemed especially appropriate. 

Version notes:
This playback demo was created using MuseScore 4 and the Muse Sounds libraries.

Fantasia (2019)

Upbeat and exciting recessional for the exit of a bride and groom after their ceremony! All those "whooshes" on the harp are called Glissandos. If you like them-- ask for them! They are unique to a harp. And we harpists kinda like to show off what the harp can do!

Fireflies by Adam Young and Owl City as a Recessional on the Harp

A fun couple's exit from their wedding ceremony with all of their family and friends!

Birds Of A Feather By Billie Eilish

If you're on SPOTIFY please follow me at SUSAN HAAS. You'll have all the up to date recordings there. I'm a professional harpist in the Austin TX (formerly Seattle, WA) area playing classical music and almost "everything else" including soft rock, latin jazz and video game theme music. I post samples according to client requests for them to hear online when they cannot make it to my studio in person. If you are looking for the classical tracks go to earliest pages.
Please visit www.soloharp.com for booking information and contact page.

Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist, composer and music educator with diverse roots in classical, jazz and contemporary art music, as well as street performance and musical theatre. Frequently juggling a unique array of saxophones, bassoons, and clarinets (even cello) within a single performance, he has performed alongside ensembles from across southern British Columbia, including the Victoria Symphony, Theatre Under the Stars Vancouver, and as a founding member of the BT Williams Quartet. Whitehorne earned a Bachelor of Music from the University of Victoria in 2018 and currently pursues academic research into music, language, and the brain, as part of graduate studies in psychology. As a composer, his output includes works for solo musicians, chamber ensemble and larger forces. Whitehorne has often been heard in an eclectic mix of venues around Victoria, from the Royal Theatre to the Inner Harbour causeway, passionate about sharing fresh, engaging music with new audiences.

New tracks tagged #Recessional