The Noble Knight and the Dreadful Dragon

By Sam Critchley

For Concert Band

Performed in 2023 for the Young Composers of Michigan Concert

The Noble Knight and the Dreadful Dragon is a narrative piece for concert band that tells the story of a valiant knight's quest to travel to the lair of a despicably evil dragon and vanquish the terrible creature. Our knight begins his adventure on his mighty steed, galloping across the land, full of determination and courage. He eventually comes to a forest, where he must continue his journey on foot alongside his hoofed companion. The knight is prepared for whatever dangers might lurk under the shaded canopy of the woods, but he is quite surprised to find a village of friendly forest sprites. (In case you aren't familiar with forest sprites, you should know that they are very humorous and peculiar creatures). After this interesting encounter, our knight continues through the forest and finds a small stream for his horse to drink, where he meets a beautiful princess. He falls in love and every part of him wants to stay in the forest forever, but somewhere deep inside a great sadness emerges, for he knows he must continue on his quest. Reluctantly, he says goodbye and departs from the woods for the rest of his journey. Our knight rides his steed through trails high in the mountains away from the forest, but his heart pulls back at him. He tries to resist it, but he gets distracted and steers his horse off of the mountain and falls a great height into the valley below. He awakens to find himself lost in a dense swamp, where the very air is thick with illusion, with no sign of his horse. He hopelessly struggles to find his way out, and nearly surrenders to despair when he sees a small ray of sunlight. He follows it out where he finds his steed, unharmed, and together they ride more confidently than ever before across the final stretch of land to the dragon's lair. The hideous dragon sleeps, but soon awakens to the smell of fresh prey. The knight battles the dragon and the fight goes on and on, back and forth. But in the end, the knight deals the final blow and claims victory. The Dreadful Dragon, now wounded and defeated, retreats far far away where it can never terrorize the land again!