Monday, September 21, 2015

Brass Suite with Trumpet

Published by Kistner und Siegel:

* Brass Suite with Trumpet

      This is an interesting ensemble.  Four tubas and a trumpet.  (Technically two tubas, two euphoniums and a trumpet.)  I wrote the first movement and was almost immediately asked to turn it into a complete suite.  I am indebted to David Carter for using his Vienna Symphonic Sound Library to make a very realistic computer playback performance of this piece.  Indeed it was he who encouraged me to write additional movements for this suite after he surveyed the initial piece.

Here are links to various ways of listening to it.  NOTE: you will have to search the list within the SoundClick link to find the individual movements since that site has changed their format.
     The whole suite

Or the first two movements with cool pictures illustrating part of what I heard as I wrote it.
     Movement I, Fanfare
     Movement II, Reflections

Reviews:

The whole suite
mmmm that's nice
   This 3 movement work features some beautiful lower brass chords and maintains rhythmic interest throughout.  The trumpet melodic work is so different to the way I approach melody that at first I found it hard to lock into, but as the piece developed, the logic and sense of the melodic work became apparent and actually, quite catchy. To me, the underlying feeling of serenity/tranquility is the unifying feature of the work. The review headline is actually what I said after the last notes. I note that some of the composers other works have this same underlying feeling. A work of quality.
 

~Jeffrey Thorpe
Individual movements

Movement I, Fanfare
            The first review has been lost to time and the bit bin of the internet.

Movement II, Reflections
Beautifully done
While some may argue with the "muddy" side of such an ensemble, four tubas is the foundation of just about every brass band around and I think the chords you have presented here underneath the trumpet are well structured. 
~ David Smith


Movement III, Delight!
Aptly named 
The title of this piece is a perfect description. A delight to listen to. Short and sweet, bouncy, plus any other synonyms of delight that could be thought of to make this review more than the minimum 30 words. :-D
~ Tony Matthews

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