Karel Husa's Apotheosis of This Earth, is one of two Husa works for concert band (the other is Music for Prague 1968) that have done more to establish that ensemble as one ready and waiting for serious original essays (conventional wisdom long having been that one writes serious music for orchestra, not band) than perhaps all other concert band works of the twentieth century put together. Both have proven to be very audience-friendly and have been performed countless times over the years. It was commissioned by the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association, and is dedicated to Dr. William D Revelli, conductor of bands at the University of Michigan for many years. The premiere took place on April 1, 1971, in Ann Arbor, MI, the University of Michigan Symphonic Band playing under the direction of the composer.

Apotheosis of This Earth owes its popularity to the fact that it is not in any way, shape or form "pure," or "absolute," music—audiences are generally more quick to appreciate music that is loaded with extramusical ideas and images, and in this regard Apotheosis of This Earth is not impoverished. Husa, in fact, wrote a long preface to the printed score of Apotheosis of This Earth, explaining that his composition of the work "was motivated by the present desperate stage of mankind and its immense problems with everyday killings, war, hunger, extermination of the fauna, huge forest fires, and critical contamination of the whole environment."

The piece has three movements: 1. "Apotheosis," 2. "Tragedy of Destruction," and 3. "Postscript." The first movement, which at 12 minutes and 30 seconds (as marked by Husa) is the longest by far, is essentially one large crescendo, texturally and dynamically organized, representing the Earth as it grows from a point of light far off in the universe into a massive, living entity in front of us. The second movement is faster and more active; it is built from pointed gestures and scampering rhythms (sixteenth notes sextuplets, septuplets, etc.), that move from group to group until climaxing in one massive conglomeration. In "Postscript," Husa offers the audience a chance to reflect on the destruction of the earth as imagined in the second movement. Quiet sustained tones provide a foundation upon which the members of the band are asked to begin chanting, at first in almost indecipherable form, but then growing more cogent, the words "this beautiful Earth."

© Blair Johnston, Rovi