For Trumpet And
Piano-This Sonata by
John McCabe was
commissioned by Simon
Deb…(+)
For Trumpet And
Piano-This Sonata by
John McCabe was
commissioned by Simon
Debruslais and derives
its underlying material
from William Byrd’s
motet 'Haec Dies' from
his 1591 collection of
Cantiones Sacrae. An
outline of the motet is
“hidden”
within the texture of the
music but never stated
directly. The Sonata
employs that beautiful
instrument the Flugelhorn
(beloved of Vaughan
Williams and Miles Davis)
for the first two main
sections switching to D
Trumpet (familiar from
Baroque music) for the
final part which is
faster than the earlier
ones. The first section
is moderately-paced and
obsessively circles
around particular
intervals notably
parallel ornear-parallel
fifths (possibly my
revenge on the academic
world). The middle part
of the work is slow
framed by very brief
scherzando trio-like
sections. The piece lasts
about 17 minutes.