Calypso Island

Listen to the work here!

Calypso Island is an original work for steel band, including the following parts:

Lead Tenor

Double Tenor

Double Second

Cello

Bass

Engine Room Parts – Drumset, Congas, Claves, and Maracas

The opening section of the work is upbeat and energetic, with more melodic trading between the upper voices than is common among steel band charts. This can provide an enjoyable vehicle for an ensemble to work on listening and timing skills. The music moves into a new key signature for a slower and more relaxed middle section, creating an overall ABA form for the piece.

The harmonic and rhythmic language of the work are (as might be gleaned from the work’s title) designed to paint a portrait of blue skies over a sunny island. Amidst this imagery, the unfolding of soca and calypso musical material throughout this ternary form can perhaps be envisioned as the setting and subsequent rising of the sun, the different musical moods reflecting different parts of an ideal day.