Brass Quintet

Duration:4:30

Instrumentation:Brass Quintet (2 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba)

This is an arrrangement of Movement 2 from Campane. See below for the recording of this movement with the original instumentation played by members of the Minnesota Orchestra.

Duration:5:04

Instrumentation:Brass Quintet (2 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba)

Notes: The indigenous peoples of Australia have a tradition that they call song lines. Bruce Chatwin, in his book, "The Songlines", described their practice: “The melodic contour of the song describes the land over which the song passes ... certain phrases, certain combinations of musical notes, are thought to describe the actions of the ancestors’ feet. An expert song man … would count how many times he has crossed a river or scaled a ridge – and be able to calculate where, and how far along, the songline he was ... A musical phrase is a map reference. Music is a memory bank for finding one’s way about the world.” In this work, I use parts of several songs. They grew out of my inner world. This piece is a journey through that uncharted wilderness.

Song Lines was premiered by the Modern Brass Quintet in Pasadena, California on March 14, 2020.

Members of the quintet were:

Dan Rosenboom and Rob Schaer, trumpets
Dylan Hart, horn
Steven Suminski, trombone
Doug Tornquist, tuba.

“After intermission they opened with Steven Juliani’s “Coruscate” which wandered to dissonant edges, but pulled back into melody and even satisfactory harmony in the wonderful and memorable finale; Seth Orgel on French horn excelled here.” - Millbrook Independent

Duration:5:04

Instrumentation:Brass Quintet (2 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba)

Notes: My idea with this piece was to write something exciting that showed off the broad expressive range of brass instruments.

Coruscate is a word that seemed to fit that idea. The sound of it suggests its meaning, which is: to give off or reflect light in bright beams or flashes.

The work was premiered on June 13, 2018 by the Atlantic Brass Quintet at the Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs, New York.

The Atlantic Brass performed Coruscate on their midwest tour in September and October of 2018 and recorded it on October 2, 2018 in the Voxman Music Building, Concert Hall at the University of Iowa. That recording is above.

Recorded 10/2/18
Voxman Music Building, Concert Hall at the University of Iowa
Recording engineer: James Edel
Mixed by: Judy Kirschner
Edited by: Andre Zweers

Duration:About 4 minutes

Instrumentation:Brass Quintet (2 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba)

Notes:I thought A Change of Worlds would work well with brass sonorities. This quintet version loses some of the voices that are present in the choral version but gains in dynamic range and power.

The Atlantic Brass Quintet made the recording below on October 2, 2018 at the University of Iowa.

Atlantic Brass Quintet
Thomas Bergeron, trumpet
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Seth Orgel, horn
Tim Albright, trombone
John Manning, tuba

Recorded 10/2/18
Voxman Music Building, Concert Hall at the University of Iowa
Recording engineer: James Edel
Mixed by: Judy Kirschner
Edited by: Andre Zweers

Duration:
Movement 1 "Toll": ca. 6:30
Movement 2 "Aria": ca. 4:00
Movement 3 "Alarm": ca. 3:30

Instrumentation:Low Brass Quintet (horn, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba)

Players:
Michael Gast, horn
Douglas Wright and Kari Sundström, trombones
Andrew Chappell, bass trombone
Steven Campbell, tuba

Recording:
Recorded October 18, 2018 at Creation Audio, Minneapolis, MN.
Doug Carlsen, recording supervisor. Steven Wiese, recording engineer. Edited, mixed and mastered by Andre Zweers and Judy Kirschner. Video by Cavitt Productions

Notes:
I composed Campane (Bells in Italian) in the Autumn of 2016, after a summer trip to Europe. The sound of pealing church bells heard in France and Italy was on my mind. Those bells triggered different feelings. I heard mourning bells, bells that sounded celebratory and bells that seemed to signal danger. Those sounds seemed to fit with brass instruments whose tone emits from another form of bell.

The first movement,“Toll,” suggests the tolling of bells – something usually associated with death. But, I also meant the toll that death takes on those left behind. While working on this movement I took walks on the beach and listened to the sounds made by the rough northern California surf. I heard dissonance in the crash of the waves against each other, it reminded me of a number of bells ringing at once – chaotic and with jumbled meaning. The sound reminded me of my own grief.

Movement two, "Aria," evokes the ringing of the heart when touched by love. A love found, felt or lost.

The final movement, "Alarm," is inspired by the bell that rings to warn of danger. This music suggests the enhanced focus and sense of panic that comes with that bell (or more commonly, a siren). There is with that feeling a sense of anger, confusion, denial and sometimes surrender.

Campane was premiered by the players above on February 2, 2020 at a Minnesota Orchestra chamber music concert.

AwardCampane (Bells) received an Honorable Mention in the Bay Colony Brass’ 1st Annual Call for Scores.