Panopticon Kimberly Archer

Band
Number of Players:Standard
Copyright:2006
Piccolo
Flute 1/2
Oboe 1/2
Bassoon
Clarinet in Bb 1
Clarinet in Bb 2
Clarinet in Bb 3
Bass Clarinet
Alto Saxophone 1/2
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone
Trumpet in Bb 1/2
Trumpet in Bb 3
Horn in F 1/2
Trombone 1/2
Euphonium
(Baritone T.C.)
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion 1 (chimes, xylophone)
Percussion 2 (snare drum, bass drum)
Percussion 3 (suspended cymbal, crash cymbals)

A Panopticon (literally “all-seeing”) is a Greek prison designed so that the entire interior is visible from a single vantage point. The modal flavor of the work is perhaps reminiscent of ancient Greek music, but the piece itself is meant to depict only a prison of the imagination, in any culture. There are three distinct musical gestures: imprisonment (which represents the bulk of the piece), a jail break sequence (starting at m. 64), and a nose-thumbing gesture at the end, as the escaped prisoner looks back on the panopticon from his/her newfound freedom.
—Kimberly Archer