SKU: P2.60036
Salsa Metalica is written in the popular Cuban and Puerto Rican dance style called salsa. In Spanish, the word salsa refers to hot sauce which also describes this spicy Latin rhythm. The translation for metalico is metallic. The literal English translation of the Spanish word for brass instruments is metal musical instruments. Salsa music often features a big-band styled ensemble with a Latin percussion rhythm section including congas, bongos, and timbales. Capturing the essence of salsa music using two trumpets, a French horn, trombone, and tuba has certainly been an entertaining challenge.
SKU: P2.60044
For many years I have coached brass quintets at the USC Thornton School of Music. One of the outstanding young quintets was the Valente Brass: Yurie Yoshida, and Jessica Cruz, Trumpets; Erika Miras, Horn; Jonathan Sie, Trombone; and Jake Kraft, Bass Trombone. They kept urging me to write a quintet for them and thus was born HoopLA. This short (4:30 min) one movement piece was premiered by them at the Live at Basset Hall 8 concert, April 13, 2014. It was during this same time that I was writing two other works, Intrepideedoodah and Pocket Change. In all three I used 6/4 meter as the main rhythmic structure. I call it my 6/4 period. That meter translates easily into 12/8 and many other groupings of 2s, 3s, 4,s and 6s--the glories of hemiola abound. A unison intro leads to a Latin set-up in the trumpets and a tricky groove in the trombones. The horn has a haunting melody over that. A middle waltz section follows with imitative solos in the trumpets and a series of duets between the all of the players--giving the impression of odd meters. The main theme returns with a rousing ending. The brass quintet members named the piece HoopLA and, as the title suggests, it's a lot of fun in Los Angeles. -Jim Self.
SKU: P2.60051
Methods of Cooking originated as a piece for brass septet that was later arranged for the brass quintet format. It is a multimovement work that explores several variations of a main theme that is found throughout all four movements. Each movement seeks to evoke a certain style associated with a type of cooking. The first movement, Simmer , introduces the main thematic material of the piece from the beginning. Simmering indicates a temperature below boiling that generally is softer or gentler in food preparation. Hence, the movement is a bit more restrained, without breaking up the material a great deal. Boil follow as the second movement, and as the temperature rises, so too does the pace of the music! Boiling can sometimes lead to chaotic situations in the kitchen, and the movement looks to capture the energy of both the food as it boils, as well as the preparer as they make their way around the kitchen. This variation brings the thematic material into 6/8 time, as well as introducing new ideas that help make the music even more dynamic. The third movement slows things back down with Braise , which tends to be a longer method of cooking. The thematic material is surrounded with thicker harmonies and slowly announced throughout the movementI! this mimics the richness of flavor often associated with braising foods, and signifies the amount of time this process often takes to complete. Sautee is the final movement and looks to stay true to its original meaning in French, to jump or bounce. The melody quickly bounces back and forth between various instruments and the entire movement is bright and playful throughout. It also serves as a high energy ending to bring the entire piece together.
SKU: P2.60007
This composition for brass quintet was commissioned in 2007 by the renowned Saint Louis Brass Quintet and premiered the same year. This work is inspired by the countless hours that composer Francis Schwartz has spent performing and teaching the music of the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. One will find snippets of Mozart's creations throughout Wolfgang's Frolics often accompanied by the histrionic strategies that Francis Schwartz has developed during the past 5 decades. With a firm belief that the attending public also has an active role to play in the concert experience, the performers will at times invite the audience to vocally collaborate.
SKU: P2.60025
Composed in 2007 for Dr. William Mann, Trifecta is a lively, multimetric trombone feature piece for brass quintet. It was premiered by the Missouri Brass Quintet in November of 2007. The piece is written in rondo form with an introduction and concludes with a tenacious, albeit brief, coda section. It was recorded by William Mann and Maureen Horgan on Moe's Bit o'Blues.
SKU: P2.60009
Lauranod Trilogy is a collection of tunes written for various ensembles while I was living in Lausanne Switzerland. The name Lauranod is actually a permutation of the name Lausanne in that it is the word that my cell phone would always try to autospell for me while text messaging. PCO Fanfare was originally written for a mixed low brass ensemble and premiered in the foyer of the conservatory building. Originally conceived as kind of a joke of sorts, the opening fanfare figure contains a mini-quote from the traditional Irish song The Rattlin' Bog. The piece quickly assumed a life of its own and wandered in its own direction. Chorale & Fugue began its life as a simple exercise in writing a four-part fugue. The beginning chorale section was added later. After its first inception as a four-part piece, it was expanded to a brass octet and then reduced to the brass quintet version here. Rue du Midi was originally written for Ensemble STUBA (Swiss Tuba Und Baritone Association) in 2001 and received its premiere in Ermatingen, Switzerland. A raucous piece with lots of energy, it is named after the street next to the conservatory where a few favorite hangouts were located.
SKU: P2.60028
Handel's La Rejouissance is the highlight of his fabulous Musick for the Royal Fireworks, composed for wind band to mark the end of the War of the Austrian Succession in 1749. It is quite a short piece, suitable for any celebratory occasions. This brass quintet arrangement features the horn particularly, as well as a challenging trombone part. The two trumpets are for piccolo and D trumpet, although a C part for the second trumpet is included should a D trumpet be unavailable.
SKU: P2.60045
Some of my favorite Christmas carols are used to create this concert arrangement for standard brass quintet. - Michael KibbeMichael Kibbe, composer, has a total creative output is over 220 concert works, including two string quartets, 13 wind quintets, a large variety of mixed chamber music for winds, strings, brass, harp, keyboards and percussion. His catalogue includes works for band, orchestra and concertos. Kibbe's compositions have been performed throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe, Israel and China. Kibbe has written in numerous styles varying from Neo-Classical and Neo-Romantic to non-diatonic and minimalist. He plays most of the standard woodwind instruments, which has been a great help in composing, and has done live performing and recording work in Los Angeles for over 40 years, in addition to having been active as a music copyist for film, TV and live performance. For 17 years he was oboist and arranger with the Los Angeles based North Wind Quintet, which did hundreds of school programs and toured Mexico 3 times.
