James Barnes composed an impressive piece on a theme of Niccolo Paganini (1782 - 1840), who was one of the greatest virtuoso violinists of all time. Stated at the beginning of the work, the theme undergoes a score of variations as instrument sections or pairs of soloists are featured. The tempos and moods range from the delicate adagio to the nimble presto of the flutes.
James Barnes' program notes:
Comissioned by Col. John Bourgeois for the United States Marine Band, "Fantasy Variations on a Theme by Niccolo Paganini" was premiered by the Marine Band at the 1988 Music Educators National Conference convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. During the years following its premiere, the band performed this work on several national tours, and on its first tour of Russia.
The set of twenty variations is based on the famous theme of Paganini's "24th Caprice in A Minor" for solo violin, which, or course, is the same theme used by Brahms and Rachmaninoff for their famous compositions, as well as by more contemporary composers (such as Lutoslawski and Blacher). For many years I had intended to write a set of variations on this clever theme for wind band, but I was waiting for the opportunity to write it for a really superb group of players, so that I could write whatever I wanted to say without having to allow for the limitations of amatuer players. When Col. Bourgeois approached me about writing a piece for the Marine Band, I told him on the spot what my plan was.
I had been thinking of the piece and improvising portions of it at the piano for so long that, when I finally had the chance to start work on it in late December 1987, I wrote the sketches for it in one week. After completing the piece, I realized why so many composers have used the theme. First, the harmonic progression is much more interesting that the tune itself, but when put togehter, the melody and the harmony are fantastic, and, secondly, it is impossible to get the tune out of your mind. When working on it, I couldn't stop whistling the tune. I would wake up in the middle of the night and hurry to write another variation. I rushed to finish sketching this work so I could geht that silly little tune our of my head.
When I began work on this piece, I realized that the various modern settings of this very 19th-century theme were neither complimentary nor effective.The interplay between the melody and the harmony is such a crucial factor on the impact of this tune that to go too far afield from the original version is detrimental to the overall effectiveness of the theme. I decided that, like Brahms and Rachmaninoff, I would stay with the basic harmonic progression that Paganini used. The reason I wrote the piece i A minor is because Paganini's "Caprice" (which is itself a set of nine virtuosic variations) is in A minor. I did this out of respect for the composer's original intentions.
My overall concept was to use the variation technique to showcase every solo instrument and/or every instrumental section of the modern wind band. In doing so, it was my intent to give the Marine Band a work they could play almost anywhere for almost any kind of audience: a piece full of energy, drama, and even a little humor.