Low B's are coming.
Encountered a piece that's not listed on Larry Krantz' list of pieces with low B in my band.
http://www.larrykrantz.com/lowb.htm
Suite from THE LEGEND OF ALCOBACA by James Sochinski c1991
II Movement: Ines at Santa Clara
Measure 32.
There's even a story line to this one...
Bios:
De Castro, Inez b. 1327 d. January 7, 1355
She was the wife of Pedro the First of Portugal. Courtiers had her killed at what became known as the Farm of Tears. Pedro loved her so much that he shared his throne with her corpse. On his tomb is carved the words "Till The End Of The World" (English translation). (Bio by: girlofcelje)
King Pedro I
Birth: Apr. 8, 1320
Death: Jan. 18, 1367
King of Portugal 1357-1367. Also known as Pedro the Cruel, He was the son of king Afonso IV and his queen Beatrice of Castille. Pedro is chiefly known for his love of Ines de Castro, the Hispanic maidservant that his father had killed in 1355. Pedro led at least two revolts against his father before acceeding to the throne. Once he was king he announced that he had married Ines de Castro in secret and that she, despite dead, was queen of Portugal. This fact is based only in the king's word. As king, Pedro I was a surprising succes. True he brutally murdered the killers of Ines de Castro, but he also persercuted felons of all classes, and instituted reforms to free the Portuguese Crown and Church from papal intervention. His wife, Constanza (1320-1349), had been a Castillian princess, and it was for this reason, Pedro joined an Aragonese invasion of Castile-Léon. (bio by: Benny Chordt Hansen)
Program Notes:
I. Prelude - Fourteenth-century Portugal is the setting for one of the greatest of the tragic love stories. Dom Pedro, son of Alfonso IV and heir to the throne, dutifully was betrothed to the Infanta Constanza of Aragon in 1340 in a politically-arranged marriage. The relationship languished when Pedro was taken with the beautiful Ines de Castro, one of the Infanta's ladies-in-waiting. Pedro and soon became lovers, parents, and adoring soul mates; they became inseparable as well.
II. Ines at Santa Clara - The scandal at court was too much for the king and kingdom; Alfonso banished Ines to Spain. But Dom Pedro persisted, installing his lovely Ines and their children in the convent of Santa Clara near Coimbra. For some ten years, Pedro and Ines maintained their extraordinary and blissful relationship, producing more children and growing more hopelessly in love all the while. Alfonso, torn between his son's happiness and the political realities of the time, finally yielded to his advisors and allowed Ines and her children to be brutally stabbed to death on January 7, 1355.
III. Dom Pedro's Revenge - Pedro's grief was profound and consuming. Swearing revenge, he raised an army and led a !****! rebellion against his father. The battles raged for several months but Dom Pedro was able to gain neither victory nor revenge. In his terms of surrender, it was required that the three assassins be pardoned. Alfonso died soon after, and the prince ascended to the throne as Pedro I. His first act as monarch was to extradite the assassins and order their torture and the most cruel executions possible.
IV. Coronation of the Dead Queen - Still obsessed with grief and a yearning for his dead Ines, Pedro revealed that he and Ines had been secretly married and staged the coronation his queen never had. Ines' body was exhumed, dressed in royal robes, and carried in procession some fifty miles to Alcobaca. Pedro ordered thousands of subjects to line the entire length of the road, each bearing a lighted candle. At Alcobaca, the royal crown was placed upon Ines' head and a magnificent coronation was staged for the "Dead Queen."
V. Postlude - Pedro subsequently commissioned two splendid sarcophagi and ordered their placement in the transept of Alcobaca. Ines was buried to the left, and Dom Pedro was interred on the right in 1367. At Dom Pedro's further command, the tombs were arranged to face one another so that on the day of resurrection, he might finally rise and gaze once again upon his beloved Ines.The final ending depicts the tragedy and sadness of the story.
