Latest Barbara York piece coming soon!
Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:21 pm
The latest of the BVD Consortium for Barbara York (The BVD CBY, doncha know?) (and not Country's Best Yogurt) is in the final stages of preparation. It's a suite for Tuba and Euphonium (or Horn) and Piano. Reports are it should be available very soon.
The composer's subtitle is "Dancing With Myself". It's in 5 movements. I don't think the individual movements are titled.
What I've heard is a preliminary version, subject to revisions still, in a MIDI format.
Barbara's only mention of her vision was "a dark street" and the subtitle "Dancing With Myself".
============
This is quite a change from the previous works with which we're ALL familiar(what? you aren't? Email Bryan Doughty RIGHT NOW!!!). There is a feeling of restlessness maybe, an edge of sorts. It also has a totally different set of grooves than have the other pieces.
Still, the fabric of the
piano is quite similar. It's certainly a solid foundation, maybe less
of a partner...the fabric....more on that later!
first
movement Several different feels, certainly a "jazzy" feel,
whatever that means, almost a rhumba. Lots of imitation between the two brass voices, then they
merge to a harmony, then diverge again. The range is not extreme, some harmonic
adventure. A flirtatious meeting? Which voice is which person?
2nd almost a lovers' song--but
are they, or will they be? The same Latin feel, range not extreme again,
pitch will be a chore in places due to the voicing and the harmonic vocabulary. BEAUTIFUL lines, featuring some call and response. The
euph range is more diverse than the tuba.
3rd uses the same thematic as 1, in the
same feel to start, but there is a much different development in all 3 voices. The range gets a
little wider, there's an edgier feel than 1. It's sort of an attitude, like someone
looking around in a dark bar but not sure if (s)he's looking for
trouble or love
4th polka time! the technical movement, but not in Arban's style. Enjoyable to listen to, but this is certainly the most difficult in terms of line shapes and ranges, especially in the tuba voice.
5th
the end of the evening, not sure how late. Some thematic recalls of
earlier, but just memories. neither is sure if they're in love, or
even in like.
The piano seems to be the film on which this
evening's encounters, between the two horn voices, is recorded.
Sometimes the events around them try to impose on their private time
together, but is rejected (all that is recorded on the film, too).
Canvas was my first impulse, but no...this is more than a painting.
It's an in-depth adventure of a lonely soul...Very tonal, with moments
of dischord -- and discord -- and some argumentative times.
There will be two different versions of this, in differing keys for the euphonium version and the horn version. So, yes, tuba and piano will have different keys to push down. I almost like it better in the horn key, from what I've heard so far. The voice of the horn will speak much more fluently in this range --tessituria mostly in the staff, going below the staff more than above. Contrastingly, the tuba, in the horn version, does spend a bit of time over the staff, less than below. Not to make any recommendations on what tuba to play on this, but F is where I'd be, and I think even for the euphonium version. Maybe a smaller CC (184, Rudy 3/4, even a Piggy with a smaller mouthpiece) could work with euph. It really depends on the players involved, doesn't it?
Specifically, the horn version is a minor 3rd up from the euph, except the 5th movement, which is a major 2nd. Just enough to screw us up, changing horns.
One thing I really like about Barbara's music is the programmatic nature. For us low brass players, certainly that's been a trend since the Shamanic image in the Tuba Sonata, and I really think it's part of her concept of a piece, whether or not she actually writes with a specific story in mind. She shows great consciousness of demands on the performers, and doesn't "dumb things down" to make the music more accessible to the performer. All the while, the music is extremely accessible to the audience--enjoyable, well-crafted, melodic, but with enough flash and "out" moments to keep everyone's attention.
Stay tuned for Bryan's announcements about this and other things!
--not a paid endorsement
The composer's subtitle is "Dancing With Myself". It's in 5 movements. I don't think the individual movements are titled.
What I've heard is a preliminary version, subject to revisions still, in a MIDI format.
Barbara's only mention of her vision was "a dark street" and the subtitle "Dancing With Myself".
============
This is quite a change from the previous works with which we're ALL familiar(what? you aren't? Email Bryan Doughty RIGHT NOW!!!). There is a feeling of restlessness maybe, an edge of sorts. It also has a totally different set of grooves than have the other pieces.
Still, the fabric of the
piano is quite similar. It's certainly a solid foundation, maybe less
of a partner...the fabric....more on that later!
first
movement Several different feels, certainly a "jazzy" feel,
whatever that means, almost a rhumba. Lots of imitation between the two brass voices, then they
merge to a harmony, then diverge again. The range is not extreme, some harmonic
adventure. A flirtatious meeting? Which voice is which person?
2nd almost a lovers' song--but
are they, or will they be? The same Latin feel, range not extreme again,
pitch will be a chore in places due to the voicing and the harmonic vocabulary. BEAUTIFUL lines, featuring some call and response. The
euph range is more diverse than the tuba.
3rd uses the same thematic as 1, in the
same feel to start, but there is a much different development in all 3 voices. The range gets a
little wider, there's an edgier feel than 1. It's sort of an attitude, like someone
looking around in a dark bar but not sure if (s)he's looking for
trouble or love
4th polka time! the technical movement, but not in Arban's style. Enjoyable to listen to, but this is certainly the most difficult in terms of line shapes and ranges, especially in the tuba voice.
5th
the end of the evening, not sure how late. Some thematic recalls of
earlier, but just memories. neither is sure if they're in love, or
even in like.
The piano seems to be the film on which this
evening's encounters, between the two horn voices, is recorded.
Sometimes the events around them try to impose on their private time
together, but is rejected (all that is recorded on the film, too).
Canvas was my first impulse, but no...this is more than a painting.
It's an in-depth adventure of a lonely soul...Very tonal, with moments
of dischord -- and discord -- and some argumentative times.
There will be two different versions of this, in differing keys for the euphonium version and the horn version. So, yes, tuba and piano will have different keys to push down. I almost like it better in the horn key, from what I've heard so far. The voice of the horn will speak much more fluently in this range --tessituria mostly in the staff, going below the staff more than above. Contrastingly, the tuba, in the horn version, does spend a bit of time over the staff, less than below. Not to make any recommendations on what tuba to play on this, but F is where I'd be, and I think even for the euphonium version. Maybe a smaller CC (184, Rudy 3/4, even a Piggy with a smaller mouthpiece) could work with euph. It really depends on the players involved, doesn't it?
Specifically, the horn version is a minor 3rd up from the euph, except the 5th movement, which is a major 2nd. Just enough to screw us up, changing horns.
One thing I really like about Barbara's music is the programmatic nature. For us low brass players, certainly that's been a trend since the Shamanic image in the Tuba Sonata, and I really think it's part of her concept of a piece, whether or not she actually writes with a specific story in mind. She shows great consciousness of demands on the performers, and doesn't "dumb things down" to make the music more accessible to the performer. All the while, the music is extremely accessible to the audience--enjoyable, well-crafted, melodic, but with enough flash and "out" moments to keep everyone's attention.
Stay tuned for Bryan's announcements about this and other things!
--not a paid endorsement