Here is a compilation of all the videos I have posted thus far.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Peter Graham-Brillante
Peter Graham is a Scottish composer and studied with Edward Gregson at Goldsmiths' College, University of London and holds a PhD in Composition. From 1983 until 1986 he was resident in New York City, USA, where he
worked as a freelance composer/arranger and as a publications editor with the
S.A. Music Bureau. Since his return to the U.K. he has worked regularly as an
arranger for BBC Television and Radio and has specialized in composition for
the British style brass band. Since the publication of Dimensions
(1983), he has carved out a niche as an outstanding arranger for brass bands,
and a leading figure amongst contemporary band composers. His original
compositions, which include The Essence of Time, Montage and On
Alderley Edge, are performed worldwide and have been selected as
test-pieces for National Championships in Australia, New Zealand, North
America and across Europe. His music for wind and concert band has been recorded and performed by
many of the world’s leading ensembles, including the Tokyo Kosei Wind
Orchestra and the Royal Norwegian Navy Band. Harrison's Dream,
commissioned by the United
States Air Force Band, Washington D.C., won the 2002 ABA/Ostwald Award for
composition(gramercymusic.com)
Brillante was commissioned by the British Bandsman as part of the Centenary Celebrations 1987 and was first performed by Robert and Nicholas Childs. The piece is a fantasia based on the traditional melody Rule Britannia, although it sounds more like a theme and variations. The piece focuses mostly on the technical aspects of the Euphonium. However there is a very lyrical melodic section based off of a Welsh Folksong. It opens with fast 16th note runs based on the B-flat and C scales, and then breaks into a cadenza. The written cadenza is not very extensive so many performers will add their own material for this part. The most popular interpretation is the one I first heard by David Childs which involves lightning fast flexibility, use of the extreme ranges, and multiphonics. After the cadenza the main theme is stated by the soloist followed by what I call the 1st variation. This section involves a long fast sextuplet 16th note passage. While most of them are slurred, the opening few bars of this section is tonged. it then goes into the slow lyrical melody based off of a Welsh Folk song. The accompaniment has a figure that is very reminiscent of the Habanera and can be taken advantage of to provide variety in this section. Then it breaks into the final variation which is a very long 16th note passage. The tempo marked is 144+ and most performances exceed the 144, most notably David Childs who takes it upwards of 160. It concludes with a flourish up to a High E-flat, and some performers go for the G above that just to make it even more of a showpiece. Here is a recording of David Childs performing this piece with brass band accompaniment.
Concerto for Euphonium-Karl Jenkins
This concerto was commissioned by the Euphonium Foundation UK for David Childs. Childs premiered the concerto at the Welsh Proms in 2009, and in the US at Carnegie hall in 2010. It exists with orchestral, wind band, or brass band accompaniments and is made of 4 movements.
The first movement is titled "Juggler." It is described as "unapologetically exploiting the agility and virtuosity of the instrument in a fun context. The music is episodic beginning with a minimalist texture over which the euphonium ‘tweets’ three short calls before riffing around. The movement is broken up by two waltzes – the first dance.” As mentioned by Dr. Stephen Allen, this movement is very virtuosic but in a quirky way. The waltz is very easy to feel throughout the piece and the soloist has many fun licks that play around the waltz.
The second movement is titled "Romanza" has themes from Jenkins earlier work Benedictus from The Armed Man - A Mass for Peace this is described as "simple music, one might almost say innocent and naïve in the best sense, celebrating conjunct melodic shapes with light harmonic accompaniment in the spirit of a tranquil folk-meditation somewhat reminiscent of Shostakovich in movie mode. Writing effective music in this style that avoids the pitfalls of cliché is much harder to accomplish than one might think, and both Karl’s melodic gifts and David’s warm, lyrical abilities are finely showcased here."
The third movement is titled "It takes Two..." Dr. Stephen Allen says "‘It Takes Two…’ is an improvisation for the soloist. The music is in the form of a tango – the spirit of dance again, this time Argentinean – the euphonium ‘partnering’ a number of instruments while ‘breaking out’ from time to time in roiling roulades. A judicious use of multiphonics rounds off the coda." There is no recording of this on YouTube so I really don't know anything else about this particular movement.
The fourth movement is titled "A Troika? Tidy!" This movement requires even more technique than the first. It opens with bombastic pedal notes then progresses into a very technically demanding section. Dr. Allen says "The finale ‘A Troika? Tidy!’ exploits the kind of techniques more familiar through the air-and-variation and czardas-type solos clearly designed to bring the house down. A nice change of gear toward the end suddenly ushers in a rapturous interlude leading to a brief cadenza and staggering pyrotechnics in a variety of cross-rhythms conducted over the steady chug of sleigh-bells. A rollicking coda sets off all the fireworks bringing the work to a cracking end.”
The first movement is titled "Juggler." It is described as "unapologetically exploiting the agility and virtuosity of the instrument in a fun context. The music is episodic beginning with a minimalist texture over which the euphonium ‘tweets’ three short calls before riffing around. The movement is broken up by two waltzes – the first dance.” As mentioned by Dr. Stephen Allen, this movement is very virtuosic but in a quirky way. The waltz is very easy to feel throughout the piece and the soloist has many fun licks that play around the waltz.
The second movement is titled "Romanza" has themes from Jenkins earlier work Benedictus from The Armed Man - A Mass for Peace this is described as "simple music, one might almost say innocent and naïve in the best sense, celebrating conjunct melodic shapes with light harmonic accompaniment in the spirit of a tranquil folk-meditation somewhat reminiscent of Shostakovich in movie mode. Writing effective music in this style that avoids the pitfalls of cliché is much harder to accomplish than one might think, and both Karl’s melodic gifts and David’s warm, lyrical abilities are finely showcased here."
The third movement is titled "It takes Two..." Dr. Stephen Allen says "‘It Takes Two…’ is an improvisation for the soloist. The music is in the form of a tango – the spirit of dance again, this time Argentinean – the euphonium ‘partnering’ a number of instruments while ‘breaking out’ from time to time in roiling roulades. A judicious use of multiphonics rounds off the coda." There is no recording of this on YouTube so I really don't know anything else about this particular movement.
The fourth movement is titled "A Troika? Tidy!" This movement requires even more technique than the first. It opens with bombastic pedal notes then progresses into a very technically demanding section. Dr. Allen says "The finale ‘A Troika? Tidy!’ exploits the kind of techniques more familiar through the air-and-variation and czardas-type solos clearly designed to bring the house down. A nice change of gear toward the end suddenly ushers in a rapturous interlude leading to a brief cadenza and staggering pyrotechnics in a variety of cross-rhythms conducted over the steady chug of sleigh-bells. A rollicking coda sets off all the fireworks bringing the work to a cracking end.”
Karl Jenkins
This Post isn't so much about one piece in particular but more focused on the composer. Karl Jenkins is one of the leading composers in the world today. In fact, in a recent survey showed that Jenkins' music is some of the most performed music in the entire world. Originally, Jenkins started out as a Jazz composer during the period where "Jazz Polls" were popular. After composing Jazz he began to focus on music in association with media. He did many scores for companies such as: Levi’s, British Airways, Renault, Volvos, C&G, Tag Heuer, Pepsi as
well as US/global campaigns for De Beers and Delta Airlines and Bafta
‘gongs’ for his scores for the documentaries The Celts and Testament. After his period of media music, his return to the music
mainstream was initially marked by the success of the Adiemus project.
Adiemus, combining the ‘classical’ with ethnic vocal sounds and
percussion with an invented language, topped classical and ‘pop’ charts
around the world.
As Jenkins states "Adiemus was the project where I first combined the 'classical' with ethnic elements such as tribal & ethnic drumming with vocals that were more akin to world music than Western European classical. I also devised an invented language for this project. The opening of Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary is familiar to many as the music for the Delta airlines advertising campaign." There are multiple sequels to the original Adiemus and are as follows:
Adiemus
In addition to Adiemus, Jenkins has also done sacred music for choir and orchestra (including The Armed Man), Christmas music (Most recently Stella Natalis), secular music for choir and orchestra, Many concertos including a Euphonium Concerto (more on that later), and music for Orchestra as well as childrens opera.
After the Adiemus project he ventured into writing concerti for solo instruments as well as film scores. In the summer of 2005 he wrote the film score to River Queen starring Kiefer Sutherland & Samantha Morton, the soundtrack of which won the Golden Goblet award for best score at the Shanghai Film Festival. Karl holds a D.Mus degree from the University of Wales, has been made both a Fellow and an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, where a room has been named in his honour, and has fellowships at Cardiff University, Swansea University, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Trinity College Carmarthen, Swansea Metropolitan University and was also presented by Classic FM with the ‘Red f ‘award for ‘outstanding service to classical music’
All of this information and more can be found at Karl Jenkins official website www.karljenkins.com I highly recommend listening to his music.
As Jenkins states "Adiemus was the project where I first combined the 'classical' with ethnic elements such as tribal & ethnic drumming with vocals that were more akin to world music than Western European classical. I also devised an invented language for this project. The opening of Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary is familiar to many as the music for the Delta airlines advertising campaign." There are multiple sequels to the original Adiemus and are as follows:
Adiemus
- Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary
- Adiemus II: Cantata Mundi
- Adiemus III: Dances of Time
- Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot
- Adiemus V: Vocalise
- Beyond the Century
In addition to Adiemus, Jenkins has also done sacred music for choir and orchestra (including The Armed Man), Christmas music (Most recently Stella Natalis), secular music for choir and orchestra, Many concertos including a Euphonium Concerto (more on that later), and music for Orchestra as well as childrens opera.
After the Adiemus project he ventured into writing concerti for solo instruments as well as film scores. In the summer of 2005 he wrote the film score to River Queen starring Kiefer Sutherland & Samantha Morton, the soundtrack of which won the Golden Goblet award for best score at the Shanghai Film Festival. Karl holds a D.Mus degree from the University of Wales, has been made both a Fellow and an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, where a room has been named in his honour, and has fellowships at Cardiff University, Swansea University, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Trinity College Carmarthen, Swansea Metropolitan University and was also presented by Classic FM with the ‘Red f ‘award for ‘outstanding service to classical music’
All of this information and more can be found at Karl Jenkins official website www.karljenkins.com I highly recommend listening to his music.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Yasuhide Ito-Fantasy Variations.
Yasuhide Ito is a Japanese composer, he graduated and Tokyo Geijutsu Kaigaku (Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music) in 1986. As a composer he is well known for more than 60 band works, including the famous "Gloriosa" and "Festival Scenes." He also has works for chamber ensembles that have been published throughout the world. Besides his career as a composer, he is also a well-known pianist, and has co-starred with many leading players including Steven Mead and Brian Bowman. Although musically educated in Japan, Ito uses the Eupropean Classical music language in his compositions.
Fantasy Variations is only one of his compositions for Euphonium, he also has Gradation, A La Suite Classique, and Euphonium Parfait. Fantasy Variations was commissioned and premiered by Miura Toru, internationally acclaimed euphonium player, and a member of the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. Originally written for Euphonium and Band and premiered at the International Tuba-Euphonium Conference in Sapporo, Japan in August of 1990. Based on a "Yaisamanina (love song) from Ainu Folk-music" which appears as the theme in bar 171 (Ainu is a Japanese Aborigine from Northern Japan). In this work he uses motives based on Japanese melody, although composed using different European Styles including: Chaconne, Variations, Rondo, and Fugue.
Written in the form of a theme and variations, this piece actually presents the variations before the theme. The variations require no unusual techniques other than finesse and ease. There is a lot of interchange between the piano and soloist, making it, at some moments, a piano solo with Euphonium accompaniment. After a brief cadenza the true theme emerges in the piano. The soloist is required to shape the melody to be as beautiful as possible. After the theme a fugue in 6/8 emerges and concludes with a "tour-de-force" coda section. Here is a video of Kyohei Ando performing the piece with piano accompaniment.
Fantasy Variations is only one of his compositions for Euphonium, he also has Gradation, A La Suite Classique, and Euphonium Parfait. Fantasy Variations was commissioned and premiered by Miura Toru, internationally acclaimed euphonium player, and a member of the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. Originally written for Euphonium and Band and premiered at the International Tuba-Euphonium Conference in Sapporo, Japan in August of 1990. Based on a "Yaisamanina (love song) from Ainu Folk-music" which appears as the theme in bar 171 (Ainu is a Japanese Aborigine from Northern Japan). In this work he uses motives based on Japanese melody, although composed using different European Styles including: Chaconne, Variations, Rondo, and Fugue.
Written in the form of a theme and variations, this piece actually presents the variations before the theme. The variations require no unusual techniques other than finesse and ease. There is a lot of interchange between the piano and soloist, making it, at some moments, a piano solo with Euphonium accompaniment. After a brief cadenza the true theme emerges in the piano. The soloist is required to shape the melody to be as beautiful as possible. After the theme a fugue in 6/8 emerges and concludes with a "tour-de-force" coda section. Here is a video of Kyohei Ando performing the piece with piano accompaniment.
Wilby Continued
Here is a recording of David Thornton and Black Dyke Band on the Wilby Concerto.
and Part 2
This is Grant Jameson with Piano accompaniment.
and part 2
and Part 2
This is Grant Jameson with Piano accompaniment.
and part 2
Concerto for Euphonium-Philip Wilby
Philip Wilby is a leading force in Brass Band compositions. Educated at Leeds Grammar School and Keble College, Oxford, he joined the staff at the University of Leeds in 1972. There he taught various composition, liturgy, directing, and score reading classes as well as co-founding the Leeds University Liturgical Choir. Composing for many different instruments and ensembles, Wilby is most known for his compositions for brass band. Many of Wilby's pieces are based on his strong Christian beliefs. Famous works that fall in this category are: Dove Descending, Revelation, and The New Jerusalem.
Many of Wilby's works are written especially to be used as test pieces
in brass band contests all over the world. One recent composition to fit
this description is Vienna Nights, which was commissioned as the test piece for the 2006 British Open Brass Band Championship held in Symphony Hall, Birmingham. Most famously though Paganini Variations,
one of his finest pieces of work, which was selected as the test piece
for the 2011 Regional Championships (Championship Section) and has been
used as the test piece for many other major competitions over the years,
and has been recorded by a number of bands including Black Dyke, Fodens
and Grimethorpe. Dove Descending was featured by Black Dyke Band
at the 2007 BBC Promenade Concerts in a day devoted to music for brass.
Wilby also wrote the descriptive Northern Lights commissioned by the
Black Dyke Band which was scored for a brass band and 4 dancers. It was
later adapted for the Contest Stage when it was selected for the Butlins
Mineworkers Championships in January 2007.
His concerto for Euphonium was written for Euphonium virtuoso Robert Childs, and was commissioned by the Welsh Arts Council and the Welsh Amateur Music Federation. The concerto is written in 2 parts each containing 2 movements. Part One is a "sonata structure movement" titled non troppo allegro which alternates between a melodic style and some rapid passages. The movement is intended to be a firm development of the opening fourth-based motives. The movement concludes very softly and then the second movement is played attaca with sudden burst into a Greek dance. The movement is very technical and is titled Dance Zeibekikos which is a traditional dance of the Greek Islands. It involves smashing plates and lifting tables with your teeth (the dance, not the music). Part Two opens with an fantasy-like lyrical movement and contains many cadenzas. It calls for an optional muted part in the opening 1/3rd of the movement. The final movement opens with a quick fugal section which then moves to a climactic return of the music and tonality of the first movement. The piece is written for many different accompaniments including piano, brass band, wind band, and the orchestral version is a rental only but is still available for use.
His concerto for Euphonium was written for Euphonium virtuoso Robert Childs, and was commissioned by the Welsh Arts Council and the Welsh Amateur Music Federation. The concerto is written in 2 parts each containing 2 movements. Part One is a "sonata structure movement" titled non troppo allegro which alternates between a melodic style and some rapid passages. The movement is intended to be a firm development of the opening fourth-based motives. The movement concludes very softly and then the second movement is played attaca with sudden burst into a Greek dance. The movement is very technical and is titled Dance Zeibekikos which is a traditional dance of the Greek Islands. It involves smashing plates and lifting tables with your teeth (the dance, not the music). Part Two opens with an fantasy-like lyrical movement and contains many cadenzas. It calls for an optional muted part in the opening 1/3rd of the movement. The final movement opens with a quick fugal section which then moves to a climactic return of the music and tonality of the first movement. The piece is written for many different accompaniments including piano, brass band, wind band, and the orchestral version is a rental only but is still available for use.
Blue Lake Fantasies-David Gillingham
David Gillingham is a very prominent composer for the euphonium as well as other instruments and ensembles. His most notable works for euphonium include his Concerto for Euphonium, Vintage, Blue Lake Fantasies, and a Tuba/Euphonium Duet titled Diversive Elements. All of these pieces are a blast to play and should be considered by all serious players looking for some cool repertoire. I will be focusing on his Blue Lake Fantasies.
David Gillingham earned Bachelor and Master Degrees in Instrumental Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the PhD in Music Theory/Composition from Michigan State University. Dr. Gillingham has an international reputation for the works he has written for band and percussion. His numerous awards include the 1981 DeMoulin Award for Concerto for Bass Trombone and Wind Ensemble and the 1990 International Barlow Competition (Brigham Young University) for Heroes, Lost and Fallen. Also, nationally known artists, Fred Mills (Canadian Brass), Randall Hawes (Detroit Symphony) and Charles Vernon (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) have performed works by Dr. Gillingham. Over sixty of his works for band, choir, percussion, chamber ensembles, and solo instruments are published by C. Alan, Hal Leonard, Southern Music, Music for Percussion, Carl Fischer, MMB, T.U.B.A, I.T.A., and Dorn. Dr. Gillingham is a Professor of Music at Central Michigan University.
Blue Lake Fantasies was commissioned by the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium Festival at the Blue Lake camp in Michigan. It is a virtuosic work intended for a professional or advanced student to play. The different movements exploit the technical facility of the Euphonium while also taking advantage of the lyrical quality of the instrument. The piece is in the form of a five movement suite with each of the movements titles being associated with aspects from experiencing the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. The work is programmatic in the sense that the title of the movement suggests a certain image or character.
The first movement is titled Firefly, this title suggests a mimicry of that specific insect. It contains fast technical passages to simulate the lightning fast movements of the firefly. It also contains a short melodic eighth note passage that can project the idea of the Firefly resting in the grass.
The second movement is titled Moonlight Across the Water. It is very musical and expressive and is "a direct result of the emotion felt by the composer on many occasions while contemplating the serene beauty of a lake adorned by shimmering moonlight" (composers notes).
The third movement is titled All That Jazz. It is a salute to the jazz program at Blue Lake with its swung style and stereotypical rhythms. The movement calls for a straight mute to bring out this jazz
influence.
The fourth movement is titled Ancient Native Air. It is a very simplistic and lyrical movement based on the Chippewa Indian Tune "My Music Reaches to the Sky." The composer included this tune because of Michigan's rich Native American History. This movement calls for multiphonics when the indian tune is present, with the sung line being the melody and the instrument playing an A-flat underneath.
The fifth movement is titled Party Antics. It is a musical cliche with stereotypical melodic and rhythmic patterns. "The music is intended to capture the spirit of celebration at a party gathering on the last day of camp. There is, however, a bittersweet wrinkle in all this fun: a soaring and majestic secondary theme reflects the sadness as new found friends depart from camp and go their separate ways. (Ibid..)" Unfortunately there is not a recording of the 5th movement on YouTube. There is a recording available for purchase on iTunes by Danny Hellseth.
David Gillingham earned Bachelor and Master Degrees in Instrumental Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the PhD in Music Theory/Composition from Michigan State University. Dr. Gillingham has an international reputation for the works he has written for band and percussion. His numerous awards include the 1981 DeMoulin Award for Concerto for Bass Trombone and Wind Ensemble and the 1990 International Barlow Competition (Brigham Young University) for Heroes, Lost and Fallen. Also, nationally known artists, Fred Mills (Canadian Brass), Randall Hawes (Detroit Symphony) and Charles Vernon (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) have performed works by Dr. Gillingham. Over sixty of his works for band, choir, percussion, chamber ensembles, and solo instruments are published by C. Alan, Hal Leonard, Southern Music, Music for Percussion, Carl Fischer, MMB, T.U.B.A, I.T.A., and Dorn. Dr. Gillingham is a Professor of Music at Central Michigan University.
Blue Lake Fantasies was commissioned by the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium Festival at the Blue Lake camp in Michigan. It is a virtuosic work intended for a professional or advanced student to play. The different movements exploit the technical facility of the Euphonium while also taking advantage of the lyrical quality of the instrument. The piece is in the form of a five movement suite with each of the movements titles being associated with aspects from experiencing the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. The work is programmatic in the sense that the title of the movement suggests a certain image or character.
The first movement is titled Firefly, this title suggests a mimicry of that specific insect. It contains fast technical passages to simulate the lightning fast movements of the firefly. It also contains a short melodic eighth note passage that can project the idea of the Firefly resting in the grass.
The second movement is titled Moonlight Across the Water. It is very musical and expressive and is "a direct result of the emotion felt by the composer on many occasions while contemplating the serene beauty of a lake adorned by shimmering moonlight" (composers notes).
The third movement is titled All That Jazz. It is a salute to the jazz program at Blue Lake with its swung style and stereotypical rhythms. The movement calls for a straight mute to bring out this jazz
influence.
The fourth movement is titled Ancient Native Air. It is a very simplistic and lyrical movement based on the Chippewa Indian Tune "My Music Reaches to the Sky." The composer included this tune because of Michigan's rich Native American History. This movement calls for multiphonics when the indian tune is present, with the sung line being the melody and the instrument playing an A-flat underneath.
The fifth movement is titled Party Antics. It is a musical cliche with stereotypical melodic and rhythmic patterns. "The music is intended to capture the spirit of celebration at a party gathering on the last day of camp. There is, however, a bittersweet wrinkle in all this fun: a soaring and majestic secondary theme reflects the sadness as new found friends depart from camp and go their separate ways. (Ibid..)" Unfortunately there is not a recording of the 5th movement on YouTube. There is a recording available for purchase on iTunes by Danny Hellseth.
Shameless Plug!
Here is my recent performance of Philip Sparke's Harlequin. This performance is a result of winning the Eastern Iowa Brass Band's Young Artist Competition-Collegiate division. The concert was Saturday April 28th and I could not have been happier with how it turned out! Thank you to the band and director Kate Wohlman for all of their hard work!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Concerto for Euphonium "Swimming the Mountain"-Allan Feinstein
Concerto for Euphonium and Orchestra: Swimming the Mountain.- Allan Feinstein.
Allan Feinstein is a composer and conductor of film music, classical music, and musical theater. He has been Director of Bands at Northeastern University since 1990.
This piece was dedicated to and commissioned by Adam Frey and was premiered in December 2004, at Northeastern University. The inspiration for this piece comes from an ancient Greek poem by Archilochus. The poem is a response to a total eclipse of the sun. In it, the poet reflects that if Zeus can darken the skies, then anything is possible. The poem was an inspiration to other poets who wrote about the theme of possibility and impossibility. The poem goes as follows:
We'll hope for everything, refuse no thing;
We dare you to astonish us, now Zeus
has hid the daytime brilliance of the sun,
has made night out of noon: a dreadful awe
has come to us. Impossibility
turns possible, and credible, and true.
Don't wonder now, if any of you sees
the beasts on land adopt the watery ways
of dolphins, and the thundering sea become
more dear to them than drier pastures were.
The dolphins, then, will seek the mountain glen
--translation by Robin Orttung.
Feinstein got the idea for the concerto from Daniel Feinstein, who I believe is his son. One day he began chanting "swimming the mountain, swimming the mountain, swimming the mountain..." for no apparent reason. When the phrase was repeated to 2 classics scholars they pointed out the reference to dolphins swimming in the mountains in the ancient Greek Poem and the theme of possibility vs. impossibility.
The concerto is in three movements. The first is titled Zeus, Feinstein describes "The Euphonium is Zeus, surveying, enjoying, and commanding his realm." It is very easy to hear the film music influences of Feinstein in this movement. It starts with a soft introduction from the orchestra then the Euphonium enters with a short cadenza in the style of a fanfare. Then the theme enters and is developed throughout the movement. The first movement alone presents many technical challenges. including an extensive range of pedal B-flat to a high E-natural. there are also many fast triplet/sextuplet 16th note runs that require patient practicing in order to perfect them. The ending of this movement has a poly tempo feel with the orchestra holding a consistent tempo while the soloist is in a free cadenza-like repetition of the original fanfare. The piece concludes with a triple forte arpeggiation down to a pedal B-flat in sync with the timpani.
The second movement is titled Eclipse. "The second movement depicts the eclipse, the emergence of stars in the darkness, and then the return of the sun," as Feinstein describes. The movement starts off giving the listener a "lost" feeling. This really helps convey the darkness of the eclipse. after about 25 measures, there's a key change and a notable texture change in the orchestra. Then the muted soloist has accented eighth notes to symbolize "the emergence of the stars." then the orchestra adopts this idea while the soloist has a very beautiful, open melody. This lets the listener sit in the moment of the stars before the sun comes out again. There is another key change and dramatic dynamic change to signify the return of the sun. The soloist has a legato eighth note melody on top of a majestic accompaniment from the orchestra. The movement then ends with a quiet abbreviated restatement of the original theme from the beginning "darkness."
The third movement is titled Realm of Possibility. Feinstein says in his notes "The third movement playfully explores musical possibilities and impossibilities, featuring interactions between the euphonium and the piccolo, timpani, and violin." This movement arguably requires the most finger dexterity out of the three. The movement in itself is very chromatic, with multiple sextuplet 16th runs over two and a half octaves and it also includes some arpeggiated patterns in chromatic sequence. Needless to say, this movement needs a lot of time put into it. The first interaction with the orchestra begins in measure 43 with the piccolo starting a descending chromatic arpeggio sequence then the soloist finishes the idea. The interaction with the timpani begins at measure 133 with a typical timpani motive and the soloist is to copy the style as best they can with the pitches written. The interaction with the violin begins in measure 195 with the same idea that the piccolo started and then the violin takes on the third theme of the piece. This interaction is much more fun and is written as a sort of competition between the violin and soloist. The first "test" is a series of quick grace notes. For the second "test" the violin is in the extreme high range of the instrument that the euphonium could not possibly reach. In response the soloist has the theme in the pedal range of the instrument. For the third "test" the violin uses double stops, in response the euphonium is asked to use multiphonics. This section really does push the realm of possibility for the euphonium and it will require a lot of practicing to coordinate. This movement ends starting with a quote from the first movements opening fanfare, although the note values are lengthened quite a bit. Then it concludes the entire concerto with the recurring legato theme followed by a quick flourish to a high C.
The entire concerto is meant to be performed without breaks between the movements. This makes performing the piece a little difficult because unlike most concertos, performing just one movement of the piece will likely leave the audience confused. In order for the concerto to make sense to the text put with it, the soloist should only perform the work if they are able to perform all three movements. This way the listeners are able to relate what they hear in each movement to the text they see in their programs.
Unfortunately there are no recordings available on YouTube, however Adam Frey does have a recording available for purchase on iTunes on his album "Taking Flight." I highly recommend giving this piece a listen, it is really an excellent addition to the euphonium repertoire.
Allan Feinstein is a composer and conductor of film music, classical music, and musical theater. He has been Director of Bands at Northeastern University since 1990.
This piece was dedicated to and commissioned by Adam Frey and was premiered in December 2004, at Northeastern University. The inspiration for this piece comes from an ancient Greek poem by Archilochus. The poem is a response to a total eclipse of the sun. In it, the poet reflects that if Zeus can darken the skies, then anything is possible. The poem was an inspiration to other poets who wrote about the theme of possibility and impossibility. The poem goes as follows:
We'll hope for everything, refuse no thing;
We dare you to astonish us, now Zeus
has hid the daytime brilliance of the sun,
has made night out of noon: a dreadful awe
has come to us. Impossibility
turns possible, and credible, and true.
Don't wonder now, if any of you sees
the beasts on land adopt the watery ways
of dolphins, and the thundering sea become
more dear to them than drier pastures were.
The dolphins, then, will seek the mountain glen
--translation by Robin Orttung.
Feinstein got the idea for the concerto from Daniel Feinstein, who I believe is his son. One day he began chanting "swimming the mountain, swimming the mountain, swimming the mountain..." for no apparent reason. When the phrase was repeated to 2 classics scholars they pointed out the reference to dolphins swimming in the mountains in the ancient Greek Poem and the theme of possibility vs. impossibility.
The concerto is in three movements. The first is titled Zeus, Feinstein describes "The Euphonium is Zeus, surveying, enjoying, and commanding his realm." It is very easy to hear the film music influences of Feinstein in this movement. It starts with a soft introduction from the orchestra then the Euphonium enters with a short cadenza in the style of a fanfare. Then the theme enters and is developed throughout the movement. The first movement alone presents many technical challenges. including an extensive range of pedal B-flat to a high E-natural. there are also many fast triplet/sextuplet 16th note runs that require patient practicing in order to perfect them. The ending of this movement has a poly tempo feel with the orchestra holding a consistent tempo while the soloist is in a free cadenza-like repetition of the original fanfare. The piece concludes with a triple forte arpeggiation down to a pedal B-flat in sync with the timpani.
The second movement is titled Eclipse. "The second movement depicts the eclipse, the emergence of stars in the darkness, and then the return of the sun," as Feinstein describes. The movement starts off giving the listener a "lost" feeling. This really helps convey the darkness of the eclipse. after about 25 measures, there's a key change and a notable texture change in the orchestra. Then the muted soloist has accented eighth notes to symbolize "the emergence of the stars." then the orchestra adopts this idea while the soloist has a very beautiful, open melody. This lets the listener sit in the moment of the stars before the sun comes out again. There is another key change and dramatic dynamic change to signify the return of the sun. The soloist has a legato eighth note melody on top of a majestic accompaniment from the orchestra. The movement then ends with a quiet abbreviated restatement of the original theme from the beginning "darkness."
The third movement is titled Realm of Possibility. Feinstein says in his notes "The third movement playfully explores musical possibilities and impossibilities, featuring interactions between the euphonium and the piccolo, timpani, and violin." This movement arguably requires the most finger dexterity out of the three. The movement in itself is very chromatic, with multiple sextuplet 16th runs over two and a half octaves and it also includes some arpeggiated patterns in chromatic sequence. Needless to say, this movement needs a lot of time put into it. The first interaction with the orchestra begins in measure 43 with the piccolo starting a descending chromatic arpeggio sequence then the soloist finishes the idea. The interaction with the timpani begins at measure 133 with a typical timpani motive and the soloist is to copy the style as best they can with the pitches written. The interaction with the violin begins in measure 195 with the same idea that the piccolo started and then the violin takes on the third theme of the piece. This interaction is much more fun and is written as a sort of competition between the violin and soloist. The first "test" is a series of quick grace notes. For the second "test" the violin is in the extreme high range of the instrument that the euphonium could not possibly reach. In response the soloist has the theme in the pedal range of the instrument. For the third "test" the violin uses double stops, in response the euphonium is asked to use multiphonics. This section really does push the realm of possibility for the euphonium and it will require a lot of practicing to coordinate. This movement ends starting with a quote from the first movements opening fanfare, although the note values are lengthened quite a bit. Then it concludes the entire concerto with the recurring legato theme followed by a quick flourish to a high C.
The entire concerto is meant to be performed without breaks between the movements. This makes performing the piece a little difficult because unlike most concertos, performing just one movement of the piece will likely leave the audience confused. In order for the concerto to make sense to the text put with it, the soloist should only perform the work if they are able to perform all three movements. This way the listeners are able to relate what they hear in each movement to the text they see in their programs.
Unfortunately there are no recordings available on YouTube, however Adam Frey does have a recording available for purchase on iTunes on his album "Taking Flight." I highly recommend giving this piece a listen, it is really an excellent addition to the euphonium repertoire.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Harlequin-Philip Sparke
Harlequin-Philip Sparke.
Philip Sparke,
Sparke was born in London and studied composition, trumpet, and conducting at the Royal College of Music where he earned his ARCM. While at RCM, Sparke formed a brass band among the students and wrote many pieces for it. Some of his first compositions include Concert Prelude for brass band and Gaudium for wind band. As interest in his music grew the amount of commissions he wrote. His first major commission was for the Centennial Brass Band Championships in New Zealand, the piece is called The Land of the Long White Cloud. He has composed pieces for championships all over the world, and has won the EBU New Music for Band Competition three times. In the U.S. Sparke was commissioned by the United States Air Force Academy Band to write Dance Movements which won the prestigious Sudler Prize in 1997. Sparke is also an active adjudicator and conductor however in May 2000, he became a full time composer and started his own music publishing company Anglo Music Press.
Harlequin
This piece takes its inspiration from the happy and sad masks which symbolize the Commedia de'll Arte (Which features Harlequin as one if its main characters) and comprises 2 "movements" which are more commonly thought of as sections since they are typically played without pause.
A Harlequin is a stock character in french plays. The primary aspect was his physical agility. He is generally depicted as stupid and gluttonous, he was very nimble and performed the sort of acrobatics the audience expected to see. He would never perform a simple action when the addition of cartwheels, somersaults, or flips would spice up the movement. The character was otherwise very elastic as long as they met this criteria. The actor may change his behavior to suit style, personal preferences, or the particular scenario being performed.
The first section of the piece is a slow melodic section with some range difficulties spending most of the time in the mid to upper tessitura. The main thing with the first section is to make it as musical and interesting as possible, a lot of performances I've heard can get pretty boring. So adding some rubato, extra dynamics, and appropriate ornaments are just some possibilities. The second section is where the character of a harlequin is evident. It is a rather fast section with a lot of 16th note passages. This section is even more demanding than the first because there are a couple of runs that stay around a high B-flat for about 5 bars, and then comes back later in the piece. The most difficult sections are towards the end. The first being the descending third pattern about 8 minutes into the piece. It requires extremely fast flexibility, and that part is one of the most important in the entire piece because it really simulates the idea of laughter. The next tricky section is the ostinato-like arpeggiated 16th notes that come right after the descending thirds motive. In my opinion, that part isn't as difficult as the descending thirds simply because it is only 2 arpeggios that are repeated for about 30 bars. When all is said and done the last section is actually very repetitive and if you can get the technique down for the different patterns then there shouldn't be too much of a problem. Just be sure to take it at a tempo you're comfortable with....not David Childs tempo.
Here are a couple YouTube videos of the piece.
^ with David Childs and Fanfare Band accompaniment
^With Robert Voss and Brass Band accompaniment.
Philip Sparke,
Sparke was born in London and studied composition, trumpet, and conducting at the Royal College of Music where he earned his ARCM. While at RCM, Sparke formed a brass band among the students and wrote many pieces for it. Some of his first compositions include Concert Prelude for brass band and Gaudium for wind band. As interest in his music grew the amount of commissions he wrote. His first major commission was for the Centennial Brass Band Championships in New Zealand, the piece is called The Land of the Long White Cloud. He has composed pieces for championships all over the world, and has won the EBU New Music for Band Competition three times. In the U.S. Sparke was commissioned by the United States Air Force Academy Band to write Dance Movements which won the prestigious Sudler Prize in 1997. Sparke is also an active adjudicator and conductor however in May 2000, he became a full time composer and started his own music publishing company Anglo Music Press.
Harlequin
This piece takes its inspiration from the happy and sad masks which symbolize the Commedia de'll Arte (Which features Harlequin as one if its main characters) and comprises 2 "movements" which are more commonly thought of as sections since they are typically played without pause.
A Harlequin is a stock character in french plays. The primary aspect was his physical agility. He is generally depicted as stupid and gluttonous, he was very nimble and performed the sort of acrobatics the audience expected to see. He would never perform a simple action when the addition of cartwheels, somersaults, or flips would spice up the movement. The character was otherwise very elastic as long as they met this criteria. The actor may change his behavior to suit style, personal preferences, or the particular scenario being performed.
The first section of the piece is a slow melodic section with some range difficulties spending most of the time in the mid to upper tessitura. The main thing with the first section is to make it as musical and interesting as possible, a lot of performances I've heard can get pretty boring. So adding some rubato, extra dynamics, and appropriate ornaments are just some possibilities. The second section is where the character of a harlequin is evident. It is a rather fast section with a lot of 16th note passages. This section is even more demanding than the first because there are a couple of runs that stay around a high B-flat for about 5 bars, and then comes back later in the piece. The most difficult sections are towards the end. The first being the descending third pattern about 8 minutes into the piece. It requires extremely fast flexibility, and that part is one of the most important in the entire piece because it really simulates the idea of laughter. The next tricky section is the ostinato-like arpeggiated 16th notes that come right after the descending thirds motive. In my opinion, that part isn't as difficult as the descending thirds simply because it is only 2 arpeggios that are repeated for about 30 bars. When all is said and done the last section is actually very repetitive and if you can get the technique down for the different patterns then there shouldn't be too much of a problem. Just be sure to take it at a tempo you're comfortable with....not David Childs tempo.
Here are a couple YouTube videos of the piece.
^ with David Childs and Fanfare Band accompaniment
^With Robert Voss and Brass Band accompaniment.
Monday, April 2, 2012
The Journey Home-Martin Mikles.
The Journey Home-Martin Mikles.
The Composer-
Marty Mikles (b.1979) earned his BM from Georgia State University, where he studied Trombone with Dr. Thomas Gibson. He is a composer and arranger but also does performances on trombone and euphonium. He is somewhat of a brass band enthusiast and participates regularly in brass bands of The Salvation Army. He is a very spiritual man and has a lot of experience leading worship around the U.S. He is currently involved in a Christian Rock group under the record label of the Salvation Army. Here you can view his facebook page to see what they are all about.
http://www.facebook.com/martymiklesmusic
The Piece-
The Journey Home is based off of the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15: 11-32. Here is a basic summary of that story.
Jesus tells the story of a man who has two sons. The younger son demands his share of his inheritance while his father is still living, and goes off to a far away country where he "wastes his substance with riotous living." He eventually has to take work as a swine herder, which is a very form of employment as swine are not kosher in Judaism. While enduring this work, he becomes aware of his wasted time and decides to return home. There, he throws himself on his father's mercy. But when he arrives, his father greets him warmly and barely allows him to tell his tales of troubled times and express his repentance; the father even kills a "fatted calf" to celebrate his return (this was a sign of great celebration). The story continues with the older brother becoming jealous at the favored treatment of his faithless brother and upset at the lack of reward for his own faithfulness.
Marty Mikles composed this piece in fulfillment of a final project while at Georgia State. The piece, as Mikles describes it, is "a musical depiction of the parable of the Prodigal Son." The piece has a very longing nostalgic character in the beginning which is outlined by the piano harmonies under the melody of the euphonium. Then the character changes to a more jubilant character with a key change at B which then leads into one of the main climax's of the piece. The character then turns back to a more nostalgic character but its more of a relaxed and happier nostalgia than the previous. The main theme then returns after yet another climax in the piece and quickly changes to a majestic character to lead to the main climax of the piece to quickly relax into a final D major chord, which ends the piece.
This little analysis will make more sense with a recording. Unfortunately there are no recordings on YouTube for me to use, so I will be adding this piece to my list of pieces to put on YouTube.
The Composer-
Marty Mikles (b.1979) earned his BM from Georgia State University, where he studied Trombone with Dr. Thomas Gibson. He is a composer and arranger but also does performances on trombone and euphonium. He is somewhat of a brass band enthusiast and participates regularly in brass bands of The Salvation Army. He is a very spiritual man and has a lot of experience leading worship around the U.S. He is currently involved in a Christian Rock group under the record label of the Salvation Army. Here you can view his facebook page to see what they are all about.
http://www.facebook.com/martymiklesmusic
The Piece-
The Journey Home is based off of the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15: 11-32. Here is a basic summary of that story.
Jesus tells the story of a man who has two sons. The younger son demands his share of his inheritance while his father is still living, and goes off to a far away country where he "wastes his substance with riotous living." He eventually has to take work as a swine herder, which is a very form of employment as swine are not kosher in Judaism. While enduring this work, he becomes aware of his wasted time and decides to return home. There, he throws himself on his father's mercy. But when he arrives, his father greets him warmly and barely allows him to tell his tales of troubled times and express his repentance; the father even kills a "fatted calf" to celebrate his return (this was a sign of great celebration). The story continues with the older brother becoming jealous at the favored treatment of his faithless brother and upset at the lack of reward for his own faithfulness.
Marty Mikles composed this piece in fulfillment of a final project while at Georgia State. The piece, as Mikles describes it, is "a musical depiction of the parable of the Prodigal Son." The piece has a very longing nostalgic character in the beginning which is outlined by the piano harmonies under the melody of the euphonium. Then the character changes to a more jubilant character with a key change at B which then leads into one of the main climax's of the piece. The character then turns back to a more nostalgic character but its more of a relaxed and happier nostalgia than the previous. The main theme then returns after yet another climax in the piece and quickly changes to a majestic character to lead to the main climax of the piece to quickly relax into a final D major chord, which ends the piece.
This little analysis will make more sense with a recording. Unfortunately there are no recordings on YouTube for me to use, so I will be adding this piece to my list of pieces to put on YouTube.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Pearls-Roland Szentpali
My next piece will be the first Pearls Suite composed by Roland Szentpali. It is a three movement composition with the titles as follows: Ducati SPs 916, My One and Only Love, Suzie.
About the Composer,
Roland Szentpali is a Hungarian Tuba Soloist and Composer. He mainly composes in the Jazz style. Some of his most notable works are his Tuba Concerto, Sketches 1998 for Euphonium and Piano, Pearls I, II (for Euphonium), and III (for Tuba), and Parallels for Tuba. Quite a few of his compositions are chamber works that include A-typical instrumentation, for example in Dance Movements he calls for tuba, electric guitar, bass guitar, and percussion. This implies that he is attempting to fuse the idiomatic solo structure, with solo instrument and piano/ensemble accompaniment, and exploring the solo instrument with almost a jazz instrumentation accompaniment. In all seriousness, he is incredibly successful with it.
About Pearls,
The first movement, Ducati SPS 916, is named for a motorcycle that was, at the time, the fastest "street-legal" motorcycle available for purchase. This movement explores the style of funk, this is evident from the syncopation's and the general feel of the accompaniment. This movement has an electronic accompaniment available (but not easily), it isn't for purchase but if you were to kindly ask someone that does posses a copy I'm sure they would be willing to pass it on. According to some professionals, Szentpali was never very happy with how the electronic accompaniment turned out, which is why he never had it for sale. I believe he originally gave it to Steven Mead and then it was passed on from there. I do posses this accompaniment and will upload the a video of the piece with the electronic acc., in the near future. The entire suite was written for trumpet player Gabor Doldoczki, which limits the range of the piece. It extends from a low G to, at the most, high f1. The movement has no key signature, instead it modulates by use of accidentals. The main challenges of this piece will be keeping a consistent tempo, and the general flexibility between ranges. There are also some extended techniques including: flutter tonging, glissandi, and it is typically performed with added turns or lip trills. Here is a recording of Jamie Lipton performing Ducati with piano accompaniment.
The second movement, My One and Only Love, was written for Cornejo-Garas Denissey (who was the composer's girlfriend for over nine years) and is in the style of a jazz ballad. The movement has a slow almost improvisatory feel. It is often performed with embellishments on the melody, including turns or small improvised figures to help aid the emotional bluesy feel of the piece. This can also be said for the piano accompaniment. In Danny Helseth's recording he uses what sounds like a cup mute (rather than the typical straight mute) during the piece to give it a unique jazzy sound. The biggest challenge for this piece is the musicality, making sure it doesn't become boring. Adding those additional figures mentioned above can help but they should not be the only thing the performer brings to the table with this piece. Adding dynamics and rubato will help bring this piece to life, the best thing you can do is simply get into the music! Here is a recording where Szentpali is actually playing the accompaniment part.
The third movement, Suzie, has a Latin Quasi Samba feel to it. It is a very vague samba because the piano is so busy and complex the entire time. It is easier to feel as a samba if you feel the piece in 2/2 rather than the written 4/4. The piece was written for a dancer and very close friend of Szentpali. The most challenging aspect of this piece are the general technical facility required to play the fast 16th note passages. The other challenging aspect would be trying to capture the style/character of the piece. It can be incredibly difficult if you aren't familiar with the samba style. The first thing one should do is look up some popular samba pieces, after a little research of the style the player should have a better grasp at what the piece is asking for. There are many printing errors in this movement (actually throughout the entire suite). Rather than explaining all of them you can view a dissertation done on this piece, it was done by Christopher Buckley at the University of North Texas in 2010. I will post 2 recordings of this piece, the first is just a straight forward performance by Abe Ryunosuke (euphonium) and Roland Szentpali (piano).
The second is of Steven Mead with a Midi File accompaniment, its easier to feel the samba in this one.
About the Composer,
Roland Szentpali is a Hungarian Tuba Soloist and Composer. He mainly composes in the Jazz style. Some of his most notable works are his Tuba Concerto, Sketches 1998 for Euphonium and Piano, Pearls I, II (for Euphonium), and III (for Tuba), and Parallels for Tuba. Quite a few of his compositions are chamber works that include A-typical instrumentation, for example in Dance Movements he calls for tuba, electric guitar, bass guitar, and percussion. This implies that he is attempting to fuse the idiomatic solo structure, with solo instrument and piano/ensemble accompaniment, and exploring the solo instrument with almost a jazz instrumentation accompaniment. In all seriousness, he is incredibly successful with it.
About Pearls,
The first movement, Ducati SPS 916, is named for a motorcycle that was, at the time, the fastest "street-legal" motorcycle available for purchase. This movement explores the style of funk, this is evident from the syncopation's and the general feel of the accompaniment. This movement has an electronic accompaniment available (but not easily), it isn't for purchase but if you were to kindly ask someone that does posses a copy I'm sure they would be willing to pass it on. According to some professionals, Szentpali was never very happy with how the electronic accompaniment turned out, which is why he never had it for sale. I believe he originally gave it to Steven Mead and then it was passed on from there. I do posses this accompaniment and will upload the a video of the piece with the electronic acc., in the near future. The entire suite was written for trumpet player Gabor Doldoczki, which limits the range of the piece. It extends from a low G to, at the most, high f1. The movement has no key signature, instead it modulates by use of accidentals. The main challenges of this piece will be keeping a consistent tempo, and the general flexibility between ranges. There are also some extended techniques including: flutter tonging, glissandi, and it is typically performed with added turns or lip trills. Here is a recording of Jamie Lipton performing Ducati with piano accompaniment.
The second movement, My One and Only Love, was written for Cornejo-Garas Denissey (who was the composer's girlfriend for over nine years) and is in the style of a jazz ballad. The movement has a slow almost improvisatory feel. It is often performed with embellishments on the melody, including turns or small improvised figures to help aid the emotional bluesy feel of the piece. This can also be said for the piano accompaniment. In Danny Helseth's recording he uses what sounds like a cup mute (rather than the typical straight mute) during the piece to give it a unique jazzy sound. The biggest challenge for this piece is the musicality, making sure it doesn't become boring. Adding those additional figures mentioned above can help but they should not be the only thing the performer brings to the table with this piece. Adding dynamics and rubato will help bring this piece to life, the best thing you can do is simply get into the music! Here is a recording where Szentpali is actually playing the accompaniment part.
The third movement, Suzie, has a Latin Quasi Samba feel to it. It is a very vague samba because the piano is so busy and complex the entire time. It is easier to feel as a samba if you feel the piece in 2/2 rather than the written 4/4. The piece was written for a dancer and very close friend of Szentpali. The most challenging aspect of this piece are the general technical facility required to play the fast 16th note passages. The other challenging aspect would be trying to capture the style/character of the piece. It can be incredibly difficult if you aren't familiar with the samba style. The first thing one should do is look up some popular samba pieces, after a little research of the style the player should have a better grasp at what the piece is asking for. There are many printing errors in this movement (actually throughout the entire suite). Rather than explaining all of them you can view a dissertation done on this piece, it was done by Christopher Buckley at the University of North Texas in 2010. I will post 2 recordings of this piece, the first is just a straight forward performance by Abe Ryunosuke (euphonium) and Roland Szentpali (piano).
The second is of Steven Mead with a Midi File accompaniment, its easier to feel the samba in this one.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Pilatus "Mountain Air"-Goff Richards
Goff Richards was a prominent English Brass Band composer and arranger, while also composing for other ensembles. Some of his notable works for brass band include: "Pastorale," "Trailblaze," "Doyen," and of course many others.
Pastorale
Doyen
Trailblaze
Goff Richards was born in Cornwell and attended school at the Royal College of Music (known today as RNCM). After his studies he became the Head of Music at Fowley School at the impressive age of 21. After teaching he became a professional musician working with Malcolm Arnold. He was also responsible for forming five well known ensembles including: The Goff Richards Orchestra, Burnished Brass, Percusssion Plus and The Arcadians. Richards recently passed away in June of 2011, his death has been considered a great loss in the brass/composition world.
He composed/arranged 12 pieces for Euphonium including Pilatus. Most of these pieces are entirely/include a beautiful lyrical section to showcase the beautiful tone of the Euphonium. Pilatus is one of those pieces that is entirely lyrical and one of my personal favorites. It was originally composed for Steven Mead and Brass Band Burgurmusik Luzern in 1994. The Piece describes the Pilatus, the city of Lucerne's famous local mountain. The mountain has a couple very interesting legends to go along with its history.
Pastorale
Doyen
Trailblaze
Goff Richards was born in Cornwell and attended school at the Royal College of Music (known today as RNCM). After his studies he became the Head of Music at Fowley School at the impressive age of 21. After teaching he became a professional musician working with Malcolm Arnold. He was also responsible for forming five well known ensembles including: The Goff Richards Orchestra, Burnished Brass, Percusssion Plus and The Arcadians. Richards recently passed away in June of 2011, his death has been considered a great loss in the brass/composition world.
He composed/arranged 12 pieces for Euphonium including Pilatus. Most of these pieces are entirely/include a beautiful lyrical section to showcase the beautiful tone of the Euphonium. Pilatus is one of those pieces that is entirely lyrical and one of my personal favorites. It was originally composed for Steven Mead and Brass Band Burgurmusik Luzern in 1994. The Piece describes the Pilatus, the city of Lucerne's famous local mountain. The mountain has a couple very interesting legends to go along with its history.
"History
Although the first written reference to Mount Pilatus came in the 13th century, it is believed that the Celtic herdsmen inhabited Mount Pilatus even before that. It was with the completion of the Gotthard route that the real story of Mount Pilatus began. Richard Wagner on reaching the Mount Pilatus in 1859 was overwhelmed with the views from this great mountain. From King Don Carlos of Spain to England’s Queen Victoria and Atlantic explorer Lincoln Ellsworth, all were impressed by the Alpine panorama from Mount Pilatus. (www.switzerlandflexitours.com)"
The two legends are as follows
"The Legends of Pilatus
From time immemorial, local people around Mount Pilatus believed that the tiny lake in the Oberalp dip was to blame for the terrible storms in the area. Devastating thunderstorms appeared as soon as ripples were made in the waters. People feared the restless ghost of Pontius Pilate, said to rise from the waters every Good Friday to wash the blood of Christ from its hands."
"The Dragon Legend of Pilatus
In medieval times, it was believed that dragons with healing powers lived in the rugged clefts and crevices of Mount Pilatus.In the summer of 1421, a powerful dragon flew to Mount Pilatus and landed so close to a farmer by the name of Stempflin that he fainted. When the farmer came to, he discovered a lump of coagulated blood and a dragon stone, the healing powers of which were officially confirmed in 1509.
The chronicle of Petermann Etterlin tells how Regional Governor Winkelried killed one of the Mount Pilatus dragons: he wrapped a spear with thorn twigs and thrust it into the open mouth of the dragon, finishing the beast off with a sword. In the process, drops of poisonous dragon's blood spurted on to his hand. These drops - and the poisonous breath of the dying dragon - froze the blood in Winkelried's veins and he also met his death.In the early hours of the morning of 26 May 1499, a wondrous spectacle was seen in Lucerne: after a terrible thunderstorm, an enormous, wingless dragon rose out of the wild waters of the River Reuss at the Spreuer bridge. The beast had probably been taken by surprise by the thunderstorm and washed down from Mount Pilatus in the Krienbach, which flows into the Reuss beneath the Jesuit church. Several well-respected and educated townspeople authenticated the truth of this story." (www.pilatus.ch)
As you can see, Goff Richards had plenty of inspiration for writing his piece about Pilatus. From listening to the piece it would seem to me that he focused on the majestic and mysterious qualities behind the mountain while composing. I think this lead to the beautiful and occasionally mysterious melodies in the piece.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Pilatus "Mountain Air" Goff Richards
My next piece will be "Pilatus: Mountain Air" by Goff Richards.
Here is the only YouTube clip I can find.
I may post my own recording of this one early next week. More to come on this piece!
Here is the only YouTube clip I can find.
I may post my own recording of this one early next week. More to come on this piece!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Concerto for Euphonium-Jukka Linkola
First a little bit about Jukka Linkola. He is a Finnish pianist and was born in 1955. He studied at the Sibelius Academy and worked as a rehearsal pianist in the Helsinki City Theater where he also worked as a conductor. Jazz has always been an important influence in Linkola's playing and compositions. However, he composes a lot of stage music, operas, and music for plays and movies. He also does a lot of work for symphonies, chamber orchestras, and big jazz orchestras and often will use soloists with his compositions.
His Euphonium Concerto was composed in 1995, making it a very contemporary 20th century work for the Euphonium. It is by far one of the most difficult works in the Euphonium Repertoire. The main challenge about this piece for any player is simply the endurance required to play the entire work. The Concerto with all three movements totals to just shy of 30 minutes in length, and there isn't an "easy" movement in between the more technical movements. Besides endurance this piece requires a very extensive range. The final notes in the third movement are double pedal E-flats accented at fortissimo and the highest notes are in the second movement soaring to a high F. This means that theres a range of 4 octaves plus a ninth throughout the entire concerto. This piece has a somewhat a-tonal feel to it, to me it seems like Linkola plays with the tonality especially in the first two movements, with the second being more stable than the first. This creates a technical challenge in that you really have to focus on the accidentals....did I mention that the publishers only supply you with a B-flat Treble clef part?
The first movement is titled with the tempo marking Agitato. It contains great driving rhythms, some almost fanfare-like, and his jazz influence peaks through the music at times. The movement also seems to go through different characters in the music. Sometimes the music is very confident with loud, driving, syncopated sections; other times it is dark and lyrical. During the cadenza the music just seems lost, like its searching for the conclusion.
The second movement is titled with the tempo marking Quasi Nocturne. It starts off with just piano in contrasting styles, from lyrical to something a bit bouncier, then moves onto a dark low register theme. The Euphonium comes in with a beautiful melody that soars to an apex of a high F. The cadenza material has the same "lost" feeling as the first movement, then the movement concludes with a low register long tone.
The third movement is titled Maestoso, Energico. As you may have guessed this movement is very energetic. With driving triplet eighth notes in the left hand piano and syncopation, the Euphonium is given fast, and very technical passages. This movement combines many complex rhythms, including quintuplets, sextuplets, and an occasional septuplet; and they are all very fast and require specific articulation. There are also many chromatic sextuplet sixteenth note runs that will require a lot of shedding.
This piece requires a lot of work but it is incredibly enjoyable for the performer if they are willing to put the appropriate amount of time into it.
His Euphonium Concerto was composed in 1995, making it a very contemporary 20th century work for the Euphonium. It is by far one of the most difficult works in the Euphonium Repertoire. The main challenge about this piece for any player is simply the endurance required to play the entire work. The Concerto with all three movements totals to just shy of 30 minutes in length, and there isn't an "easy" movement in between the more technical movements. Besides endurance this piece requires a very extensive range. The final notes in the third movement are double pedal E-flats accented at fortissimo and the highest notes are in the second movement soaring to a high F. This means that theres a range of 4 octaves plus a ninth throughout the entire concerto. This piece has a somewhat a-tonal feel to it, to me it seems like Linkola plays with the tonality especially in the first two movements, with the second being more stable than the first. This creates a technical challenge in that you really have to focus on the accidentals....did I mention that the publishers only supply you with a B-flat Treble clef part?
The first movement is titled with the tempo marking Agitato. It contains great driving rhythms, some almost fanfare-like, and his jazz influence peaks through the music at times. The movement also seems to go through different characters in the music. Sometimes the music is very confident with loud, driving, syncopated sections; other times it is dark and lyrical. During the cadenza the music just seems lost, like its searching for the conclusion.
The second movement is titled with the tempo marking Quasi Nocturne. It starts off with just piano in contrasting styles, from lyrical to something a bit bouncier, then moves onto a dark low register theme. The Euphonium comes in with a beautiful melody that soars to an apex of a high F. The cadenza material has the same "lost" feeling as the first movement, then the movement concludes with a low register long tone.
The third movement is titled Maestoso, Energico. As you may have guessed this movement is very energetic. With driving triplet eighth notes in the left hand piano and syncopation, the Euphonium is given fast, and very technical passages. This movement combines many complex rhythms, including quintuplets, sextuplets, and an occasional septuplet; and they are all very fast and require specific articulation. There are also many chromatic sextuplet sixteenth note runs that will require a lot of shedding.
This piece requires a lot of work but it is incredibly enjoyable for the performer if they are willing to put the appropriate amount of time into it.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Concerto for Euphonium-Jukka Linkola
The next piece on the list is "Euphonium Concerto" composed by Jukka Linkola. Here are a few video clips from YouTube.
This is with Orchestral Accompaniment
Movement 1
Movement 2
Movement 3
It is typically played with Piano accompaniment, however the piano part is insanely difficult. Unfortunately there are not any good video clips available with piano accompaniment. If I find anything I will post it straight away. More to come on this piece!
This is with Orchestral Accompaniment
Movement 1
Movement 2
Movement 3
It is typically played with Piano accompaniment, however the piano part is insanely difficult. Unfortunately there are not any good video clips available with piano accompaniment. If I find anything I will post it straight away. More to come on this piece!
Concerto for Euphonium-Joseph Horovitz
First a little bit about Joseph Horovitz. He was born in 1926 in Vienna Italy. In 1938 he migrated to England where he studied music at New College, Oxford. He earned his BMus and MA here then went to the Royal College of Music (known today as RNCM) and studied with Gordon Jacob. Where he won the Farrar Prize for two consecutive years. He composed 39 complete works, which range from a soloist with chamber ensemble accompaniment to works for Orchestra, Wind Band,and Brass Band. (information received from chesternovello.com)
Here is some background on his "Concerto for Euphonium." His concerto for Euphonium was composed in 1972 originally for Euphonium soloist and Brass Band accompaniment. It was commissioned by the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain and premiered by Euphonium Soloist Trevor Groom at the Royal Albert Hall in London. There are technically two editions of the piece, the original that was composed in 1972 and the new edition which was edited in 1991 by Horovitz himself. The only difference between the old and new editions is the tempo. The piece is very rarely played in the original tempi but we are fortunate enough to have video clips of the first two movements at the old tempi (in previous post). The original only included a B-flat treble clef part, but he added a bass clef part to the newer edition. Whats interesting is that the bass clef part is titled "Concerto for Bassoon. It is the same exact concerto, however it is played on bassoon rather than euphonium. Of course, the Bassoon wouldn't be featured with the Brass Band accompaniment, which is why Horovitz also has a version for Euphonium (Bassoon) and Chamber Orchestra.
Finally here are some notes from the composer about each movement (taken from the piano reduction itself)
"Technically, in the first movement, the soloist has to combine clear strong phrases with gentle melismatic meandering, as well as negotiating many acute-angled leaps which justify themselves by the enharmonic changes beneath."
"In the slow movement secure breath control is called for to sustain even flow in the main long melody. This movement also contains the only cadenza element in the work - two pastoral-flavoured passages, which I dedicate to the mysteriously beautiful Border-country."
"The finale opens with a driving, motoric introduction on the trombone-trio with virtuoso timpani punctuation. It is followed by a cheeky rondo theme for the soloist. Repeated quotations of this are elaborated with increasingly intricate variations, as if urged on by the ever more harmonically adventurous quotes from the band, until an unaccompanied whole-tone version of the theme brings the work to a fast close." Joseph Horovitz, 1991
Here is some background on his "Concerto for Euphonium." His concerto for Euphonium was composed in 1972 originally for Euphonium soloist and Brass Band accompaniment. It was commissioned by the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain and premiered by Euphonium Soloist Trevor Groom at the Royal Albert Hall in London. There are technically two editions of the piece, the original that was composed in 1972 and the new edition which was edited in 1991 by Horovitz himself. The only difference between the old and new editions is the tempo. The piece is very rarely played in the original tempi but we are fortunate enough to have video clips of the first two movements at the old tempi (in previous post). The original only included a B-flat treble clef part, but he added a bass clef part to the newer edition. Whats interesting is that the bass clef part is titled "Concerto for Bassoon. It is the same exact concerto, however it is played on bassoon rather than euphonium. Of course, the Bassoon wouldn't be featured with the Brass Band accompaniment, which is why Horovitz also has a version for Euphonium (Bassoon) and Chamber Orchestra.
Finally here are some notes from the composer about each movement (taken from the piano reduction itself)
"Technically, in the first movement, the soloist has to combine clear strong phrases with gentle melismatic meandering, as well as negotiating many acute-angled leaps which justify themselves by the enharmonic changes beneath."
"In the slow movement secure breath control is called for to sustain even flow in the main long melody. This movement also contains the only cadenza element in the work - two pastoral-flavoured passages, which I dedicate to the mysteriously beautiful Border-country."
"The finale opens with a driving, motoric introduction on the trombone-trio with virtuoso timpani punctuation. It is followed by a cheeky rondo theme for the soloist. Repeated quotations of this are elaborated with increasingly intricate variations, as if urged on by the ever more harmonically adventurous quotes from the band, until an unaccompanied whole-tone version of the theme brings the work to a fast close." Joseph Horovitz, 1991
Monday, February 6, 2012
Concerto for Euphonium-Joseph Horovitz
Euphonium Concerto - Joseph Horovitz
Movement 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaX7DWSmcKc
^ a much different interpretation than most modern soloists play according to the owner of the video the tempi of the first movement changed over history. What your hearing is the "original" interpretation. read some of the comments on this video to get a better understanding.
Movement 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRZ64MRcJwM&feature=related
^Brass band accompaniment with David Thornton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl15aEe7BQ0
^Piano Accompaniment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5G7PRIh2qg
^A much different interpretation....again.
Movement 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04_TK_O3MsY
^David Thornton w/ Brass band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkWJi3xHwU8
^ Piano Acc.
Movement 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaX7DWSmcKc
^ a much different interpretation than most modern soloists play according to the owner of the video the tempi of the first movement changed over history. What your hearing is the "original" interpretation. read some of the comments on this video to get a better understanding.
Movement 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRZ64MRcJwM&feature=related
^Brass band accompaniment with David Thornton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl15aEe7BQ0
^Piano Accompaniment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5G7PRIh2qg
^A much different interpretation....again.
Movement 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04_TK_O3MsY
^David Thornton w/ Brass band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkWJi3xHwU8
^ Piano Acc.
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