Category: Chamber Music / Guitar Ensemble
Instrumentation: guitar ensemble
Duration: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Intermediate; first guitar part is slightly more difficult
Publisher: Guitar Chamber Music Press

Shenandoah: A Fantasy is a 10-minute work for guitar ensemble dedicated to Glenn Caluda and the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music. The piece is cast in arch form, ABCBA, with the folk song Shenandoah placed at the center of the design. References to the folk melody also appear in the introduction and coda, giving the work a strong sense of unity across its contrasting sections.

The opening A section is lyrical, chromatic, and tonal, while the B section is more up-tempo and highly chromatic. The central C section presents Shenandoah in a lyrical and more traditionally harmonized setting, followed by a modest development of the theme. After the return of the B material, a substantial transition based on the A theme introduces heavier counterpoint before dissolving back into the final lyrical reprise.

Suitable for intermediate guitar ensembles, with a slightly more demanding first guitar part, Shenandoah: A Fantasy has been performed by many college ensembles. Its combination of folk material, chromatic writing, arch form, and contrapuntal ensemble texture makes it well suited for university guitar programs, chamber music concerts, and American folk-inspired repertoire.