brass quintet compositions of Sy Brandon
American Vignettes - American Vignettes was composed for the Lyric Brass of Pacific Lutheran University. They were looking for a composition to include on a CD of American music and one that would feature each of the musicians. The first movement, “Barn Dance”, features the first trumpet and after a syncopated, fanfare-style introduction, the movement uses fragments and elaborations of "Old Chisholm Trail" and "Short’nin Bread". The second movement is 4 A.M. Blues and features the other trumpet player on Flugelhorn. Movement 3 is the tuba feature and is called "Spirituals" that uses three different spirituals, "Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen". "Cotton Needs Picking" and "Every Time I Feel the Spirit." Movement 4 “Fiesta” is a trombone feature and represents the Southwest. The Southwestern flavor is accomplished through alternating 6/8 and 3/4 and the bright colors of the muted brass playing staccato eighth note rhythms and "ay" sounding motifs. The Horn is featured in the fifth movement “From Sea to Shining Sea” that starts with a jazz harmony version of “America the Beautiful” followed by a jazz waltz built from motifs of the song. The last movement is called “Harlem Jump” and is an up-tempo jive with Be-bop type solos written for each of the musicians. Advanced
$15.00
Canzon - This piece is written in the style of Gabrieli with slightly more modern harmony and the use of 5/4 for the contrast sections to the standard canzon 4/4. Advanced
$10.00
Chorale Prelude on Christ, The Lord, Is Risen Today - This Chorale Prelude is in the form of a fantasia as it uses phrases from this hymn interspersed with a lot of free material. It can serve as either a prelude or postlude. The tuba uses a syncopated eighth note rhythm during the sustained notes at the beginning. This pattern then dominates the last third of the piece and it invokes visions of Widor’s Toccata. Advanced Intermediate
$8.00
Chorale Prelude on Come Thou Almighty King - A festive prelude on this well known hymn. Advanced Intermediate
$8.00
Chorale Prelude on All Creatures of Our God and King and For the Beauty of the Earth - This prelude combines both hymns in counterpoint. Advanced Intermediate
$8.00
Chorale Prelude Now Thank We All Our God - This chorale prelude is in three sections. The first part uses motives from the hymn interspersed with a triplet figure. The second section is more subdued and the harmony more contemporary. Motives from the hymn are present,but secondary. The final section uses the hymn as a cantus firmus while motives and triplets occur above it. It brings the prelude to a rousing conclusion. Advanced
8.00
Glimmerglass Fanfares - Four short fanfares that were composed as a entry into a composition competition sponsored by the Glimmerglass Opera. They can be performed as a group or individually. Each lasts 15" to 30". Open harmonies, thirds and counterpoint are utilized. The fourth fanfare is in 5/8. Advanced Intermediate
$5.00
Lexicon II - The first movement, Ballyhoo, means "clamor or outcry." This is achieved musically through a fast tempo, wide intervals, asymetric meter, imitative sixteenth note patterns, and mild dissonance. The second movement, Clandestine, uses pyramids to disguise the melodic line and asymetrical meter to disguise the beat in order to represent the definition of "characterized by, done in, or executed with secrecy or concealment, especially for purposes of subversion or deception." The brass instruments are muted throughout this movement. In order to represent Eerie, the word for the third movement, a slow tempo and sparse instrumentation are used along with dissonance, extreme dynamics, trills and glissandi. Eerie means "uncanny, so as to inspire superstitious fear." The fourth movement, Amok, is filled with dissonance, counterpoint, and chromaticism in order to represent its definition; "to behave uncontrollably and disruptively." Sections of order seem to break down into sections of chaos and the movement ends on an unsettled chord. The composition is recorded by the University of Kentucky Brass Quintet Advanced
$15.00
Neverland for Brass Quintet and Narrator - Eight short movements that describe the story of Peter Pan using poetry and music. 1. Wendy; 2. Tinkerbell; 3 Flying to Neverland; 4. The Mermaid Lagoon and the Rescue of Tiger Lily; 5. Capture of the Children by Hook; 6. Peter to the Rescue; 7. Children’s March; 8. Peter Pan. Advanced
$15.00
Pinocchio Portraits with Optional Narrator - An educational composition for narrator and instrumentalists. Eleven short movements that depict characters and scenes from the Pinocchio story including Geppetto, Pinocchio, Harlequin, The Fox and the Cat, The Fairy Godmother, Candlewick, Toyland, and the Whale. The narrator part introduces the scenes and describes how the music is used to portray the story. Can be performed with or without narrator. Advanced
$15.00
Scenes from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court - This five movement composition was commissioned by the Hartford Brass Quintet. The music is very descriptive of the action and uses fanfares, lyrical lines and some dissonance to paint a picture. Advanced
$15.00
Three Moods - The first movement, "Agog", uses fanfare figures and meter changes to create a sense of excitement. The second movement, "Pensive" uses muted colors and lyrical lines to create a pensive mood. The last movement, "Capricious", has a wondering chromatic melody and counterpoint. It uses transformed material from the other two movements to reflect its impulsive and unpredictable nature. This work is recorded by the Hartford Brass Quintet on the Emeritus label. Advanced
$15.00
Wonderland - This work in inspired by characters and scenes in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” and can be performed with or without narrator. The narrator reads poetry written by Sy Brandon that describes the character and scene of each movement. The six movements are Alice, The White Rabbit, The Cheshire Cat, The Mad Hatter, The Mock Turtle, and The Queen of Hearts. Advanced
$15.00