Musica Propria The Speed of Heat - Giroux - Concert Band - Gr. 6

Composer: Julie Giroux
Format: Score and Parts
Instrumentation: Concert Band
Level: 6

The Speed of Heat is a musical depiction of the adventures of a fighter pilot, specifically an F-22 Raptor pilot. Rambunctious and daredevilish in nature, this work takes the listener through a series of events which are all based on fighter pilot "slang". Even the title is pilot slang for Warp One, or very, very fast. The opening is "The F-22 Raptor" itself and from there we go on an adventure in musical sections as follows:

• Meas. 39 - "Fangs Out" - When a pilot is hot for a dogfight.
• Meas. 52 - "Let's Dance" - Targets are sighted and we are in active pursuit.
• Meas. 115 - "Padlocked" & "Beaded Up" - "Padlocked" - To have a Bogey firmly in your sights. "Beaded Up" - Worried or excited
• Meas. 148 - "Heater Shpanked" & "Flashbacks" - "Heater" is a heat-seeking missile. "Shpanked" is soundly getting defeated in a dogfight. "Flashbacks" is the musical description of the pilot seeing his life flash in front of him in slow motion.
• Meas. 168 - "NFOD" & "Punch Out" - "NFOD" - No Fear Of Death. "Punch Out" - eject.
• Meas. 211 - Back in a "Zoombag" - After a near death experience, the pilot gets back into his "flight suit."
• Meas. 229 - "The Speed of Heat" - Let's just see how fast we can go.
• Meas. 294 - "Breaking the Sound Barrier" - in this section the brass represent the sound barrier and the woodwinds depict the Raptor.
• Meas. 304 to the end - "GAP" - Gauges all pinged (at max).