Search results for: 'three tango'

with Piano

(Milonga del Angel, Invierno Porteno, Adios Nonino)

with Piano; 4 movements

Tango Images is the result of a commission I undertook last year after corresponding with Ms. Mañas about a Tuba Fantasy-Concerto she wrote a couple of years ago that was recently premiered in Brazil. Each movement is a tango with a different and distinct style. Although sequences and chords often allude to popular music, the combination of the piano and tuba in this venue works quite well.

Commissioned by, written for, and premiered by Mark Nelson

Three for Two (or One or Three) is a versatile composition for trombone(s) and/or euphonium(s) with optional percussion (bongos, snare drum) on any or all  movements.

A 6-8 minute work playable with a tenor-bass “trigger” trombone, challenging for but playable by a college senior. Three for Two teaches jazz stylistic characteristics that are not normally encountered in standard classical solos.

The three movements can be performed entirely or independently, and with variances in instrumentation from solo trombone or euphonium (TC euphonium parts included) to duos including bass trombone or percussion or trios including the same. All notes are playable without a trigger-horn, and the duo version is easier for the brass-performer than the solo version. An optional percussion part includes the highly portable instruments of bongos and snare drum so that staging is easily accomplished for a horn/percussion duo or trio.

The title of the piece refers to the three movements scored for duo, solo, or trio (ordered so within the title since it rhymes with the popular title “Tea for Two”). One can generate fourteen instrumentations of this composition, as indicated on the cover sheet of each part.

EETT

“I first heard Fon-fon (onomatopoeia for the sound of car horns) while I was a student in Pennsylvania. While I listened to it, I knew that it would work well for low brass instruments and when Dr. Thomas told me about the Eufonix recording project, I knew that this piece would be perfect for the artists on that recording. This light-hearted tango is reminiscent of ragtime piano music in its multi-sectional construction, but it also retains its Brazilian character through the “groove” that is established at the beginning of the piece in the fourth part. Although Eufonix recorded this piece using four euphoniums, it is suitable for multiple combinations of bass clef instruments.” – Dan Brown, arranger of Fon-Fon: Tango for tuba-euphonium quartet, composed by Ernesto Nazareth.

with 2 Violins, Viola, Cello and Bass

4 movements

unaccompanied

Composer James Grant says, “Twenty years after composing the Three Furies for Solo Tuba, I have crafted the Three More Furies – yet another eccentric, challenging, and rewarding triptych of unaccompanied works for those players who wish to strut their stuff with attitude, panache, and that certain je ne sais quoi that separates the ardent enthusiast from the uncontrollable maniac. Composed in versions for both tuba and euphonium, the Three More Furies were commissioned by a consortium of 28 tubists and euphoniumists as part of my ongoing Songs Without words Project in collaboration with Potenza Music. The Three More Furies are marked ‘Exuberant’, ‘Expressive, lyrical ebb and flow’ and ‘Doggedly’. They were premiered at ITEC 2014 by tubist David Zerkel, Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the University of Georgia.”

unaccompanied

Composer James Grant says, “Twenty years after composing the Three Furies for Solo Tuba, I have crafted the Three More Furies – yet another eccentric, challenging, and rewarding triptych of unaccompanied works for those players who wish to strut their stuff with attitude, panache, and that certain je ne sais quoi that separates the ardent enthusiast from the uncontrollable maniac. Composed in versions for both tuba and euphonium, the Three More Furies were commissioned by a consortium of 28 tubists and euphoniumists as part of my ongoing Songs Without words Project in collaboration with Potenza Music. The Three More Furies are marked ‘Exuberant’, ‘Expressive, lyrical ebb and flow’ and ‘Doggedly’. They were premiered at ITEC 2014 by tubist David Zerkel, Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the University of Georgia.”

Three 4 Five was written in 1996 during a slow period in the studios — mostly just to write an energetic piece for brass quintet. It was premiered by the Wisconsin Brass Quintet. The quintet repertoire is full of old transcriptions and aleatoric modern pieces but not enough good, solid, new concert pieces. I thought about those favorite pieces that I enjoyed playing and using with students – the Arnold, Reynolds, Bozza, Jones, Cheetam Haines – and found them all to be melodic, tonal/modal in harmony, rhythmically interesting, and technically challenging. Three 4 Five (Suite for Brass Quintet) is my attempt to add to that “kind” of repertoire. Capriccio begins with a rather dissonant fanfare followed by the acrobatic main theme in the horn. The form is a modified rondo with many rhythmic permutations. Cantilena was written for my wife, Jamie, and is a ballad featuring the solo tuba. The trumpets and trombone change to flugel horns and euphonium giving a lush conical sound to the movement. Modal and jazz harmonies are prevalent. The final Caccia (chase) begins with a fast 6/8 intro that leads into a lop-sided “Viennese” waltz in 5/8. The chase returns and leads into a coda section with references to the first movement. The piece ends in a flurry of lines and final octave low G’s (pedal G off the piano in the tuba). Three 4 Five was recorded on The Big Stretch CD, Basset Hound Records BHR 106-2, by studio greats Malcom McNab and Jon Lewis, trumpets/flugel horns; David Duke, horn; William Booth, trombone/euphonium; Jim Self, tuba. For the musical and technical challenges of this piece, these guys are my “Dream Team” brass quintet. The Big Stretch CD is available from www.bassethoundmusic.com

The idea for these duets came from programming a duet recital with my colleague and dear friend, Dr. Joanna Hersey, Associate Professor of Low Brass at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. She had several new arrangements for us to perform, and she had set them specifically to be rehearsed and performed by her students. She suggested I write something jazzy for us to play that her students could also work on in lessons. What started out as a quick dose of pseudo-dixieland turned into something quite different.

“Tango” is built on a straight-eighth-note groove. It’s meant to be danceable without being too fast or too loud. Players should have fun with the style while being very strict about time and rhythm. “Bolero” challenges players to provide a steady, rhythmic bass line in the often unwieldy lower registers of the horn, and long, lyrical melodies in the upper register. “Jam” is all about having fun. It is built around basic harmonic and rhythmic patterns, and is meant to be played aggressively. My hope is that players build necessary skills while preparing these duets, and get a hefty round of applause for their efforts at the performance.

Thanks go to Walter Sear (1930-2010), whose books of tuba duets form a cornerstone of low brass chamber repertoire. Thanks also to my colleagues in “The President’s Own”, Chris Tiedeman and Paul Mergen, who often reminded me of how much fun duets can be every time they pulled out their well-loved, dog-eared copy of the Sear book. This work is dedicated to Dr. Joanna Hersey and her studio at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke for their inspiration, dedication, and spirit. My sincere thanks to all of you for making this project a reality.

The idea for these duets came from programming a duet recital with my colleague and dear friend, Dr. Joanna Hersey, Associate Professor of Low Brass at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. She had several new arrangements for us to perform, and she had set them specifically to be rehearsed and performed by her students. She suggested I write something jazzy for us to play that her students could also work on in lessons. What started out as a quick dose of pseudo-dixieland turned into something quite different.

“Tango” is built on a straight-eighth-note groove. It’s meant to be danceable without being too fast or too loud. Players should have fun with the style while being very strict about time and rhythm. “Bolero” challenges players to provide a steady, rhythmic bass line in the often unwieldy lower registers of the horn, and long, lyrical melodies in the upper register. “Jam” is all about having fun. It is built around basic harmonic and rhythmic patterns, and is meant to be played aggressively. My hope is that players build necessary skills while preparing these duets, and get a hefty round of applause for their efforts at the performance.

Thanks go to Walter Sear (1930-2010), whose books of tuba duets form a cornerstone of low brass chamber repertoire. Thanks also to my colleagues in “The President’s Own”, Chris Tiedeman and Paul Mergen, who often reminded me of how much fun duets can be every time they pulled out their well-loved, dog-eared copy of the Sear book. This work is dedicated to Dr. Joanna Hersey and her studio a

with Piano

Three Expeditions is a collection and adpatation of the three solo movements from my work Summit, originally commissioned by Drs. Jerry and Barbara Young for premiere at the 2010 International Tuba Euphonium Conference. That work, as premiered by Brian Bowman, Neal Corwell, Steven Mead, John Mueller, and David Werden requires substainally more forces than are often available for most opportunities at most venues. The present work allows for an artistically satisfying transformation of its parent, offering the willing soloist an opportunity to perfrom a completely new work in a very practical, though no less exciting, way.

unaccompanied

Three Furies for Solo Tuba was composed in 1993 at the request of Mark Nelson. Each of the Three Furies requires virtuoso playing in its own right, offering distinct rhythms, melodic figures, and articulations.