Your Top 10 Brass Quintet Pieces

[tubacharlton]

Curious to hear everyone's top-10 pieces for brass quintet (composer/arranger/publisher), from any genre. I'd liek to build a decent library, and am at a loss at where to start. I guess I'd be interested in everyone's perspective as a listener, not a tuba player (i.e., not necessarily due to a great, or even tolerable tuba part, but rather because it's part of the core repertoire, is otherwise a crowd-pleaser or money-maker for gigs, etc.). I remember a march of "This Old Man" when I was younger that was fun to play, and more recently an arrangement of Carmen that was a total blast I played a few years ago (great tuba solo and part). And do include the stalwarts that should be there (the Trumpet Voluntary's of the world).

[Z-Tuba Dude]

Bread & Butter:
Annonymous - Sonata from Die Bankelsangerlieder : )
Ewald - Quintet No. 1 (2 & 3, too)
Dahl - Music for Brass instruments (5th part is a 2nd trombone part)
Arnold - Quintet
Bozza - Sonatine

These are not easy, but they are absolute core brass works!

[hup_d_dup]

I'm assuming you are open to adaptations, not only music originally written for quintet:

English Folk Song Suite
Ralph Vaughn-Williams
arr.Villanueva

2nd Suite in F
Gustav Holst
arr.Sabourin or Nowak (both good arrangements)

Sleigh Ride
Leroy Anderson
arr.Jameson

Amparito Roca
Jaime Texidor
arr.Johnson

Hup

[swillafew]

I know at least 3 people with big collections, so I haven't had to shop. But when I do...

I look for the pieces that can be done well on the fly. Since you are starting, the Canadian Brass series is a way to jumpstart the songlist.

[tubacharlton]

Great advice!

[Mark]

The Jack Gale arrangements of West Side Story and Porgy and Bess are outstanding.

[Tubajug]

One of my favorite Canadian Brass arrangements is "The Saints' Hallelujah." It's a trombone feature, but it's a hoot and half to play. We did it for a recessional after an Easter service and no one left, they all stayed and clapped along! It was great!

I love any of the Canadian Brass's dixieland arrangements. Luther Henderson did some fabulous arranging for them.

[kathott]

1) Die Bankasliderleider (2) any Bach chorale, g minor is good (3) John Huggler "Quintet for Brass"
(4) John Cheetham "Psycho" (5) Eb unison scale (6) ensemble free improvisation (7) Bb unison scale
(8) Theme from Man of La Mancha (9) John Cage - 4'33" - arranged for quintet
(10) Sousa "The Rifle Regiment March"

[jeopardymaster]

Lots of pieces are racing through my head, but here are some worth considering:

Morley Calvert's Suite from the Monteregian Hills and 3 Dance Impressions
Edward Gregson's Equale Dances
Andre Previn's Four Outings
the Vivaldi-Bach concerto that David Sabourin (?) arranged
Bach My Spirit Be Joyful (was that Sabourin as well? I think not, can't remember who it was but somebody will. Great tuba part.)
all those Bach Contrapuncti that Robert King set.

I had the first Ewald as well but deleted it. Not quite on par with the others.

Some music in there.

[PMeuph]

The Kamen quintet always seems to be a crowd pleaser.

[Tubaru]

1. Ewald Symphonies 1,2 and 3
2. Cheetham - Scherzo
3. Daniel McCarthy - American Dance Music
4. Kompanek - Killer Tango
5. Gale - West Side Story
6. Dallas Brass - Christmas Book
7. Zach Smith arrangements - Rudolph is a fun one.
8. Henderson - The Saint's Hallelujah
9. Bernstein - Dance Suite
10. Any Bach Fugue

[tubalaska]

In no particular order, some of my favorites are:
Suite Americana, Enrique Crespo
Canadian Brass arrangement of Toccata and Fugue in D minor
Malcolm Arnold quintet no.1
Ewald quintet no. 3

[AHynds]

Might not make it to 10, but here's a nice list of pieces that are a little more on the contemporary music side of things.

The Doggerel Machine -John White
Uns-Apparatus -Timothy McCormack (link of the amazing ensemble apparat performing the work: https://soundcloud.com/ensemble-apparat/uns-apparatus)
Quintet - Ira Taxin
Discours VII - Vinko Globokar
mire|...|veins - Ann Cleare (apparat again: https://soundcloud.com/ensemble-apparat/mire-i-i-veins)
Adam's Rib - James MacLellan
Trisagion - John Tavener
Strata - David Sampson
Other Voices - Jacob Druckman
Fabrics - John Stevens

Aaron H

[ger]

7. Zack Smith arrangements

+1

[Alex C]

1) Die Bankasliderleider (2) any Bach chorale, g minor is good (3) John Huggler "Quintet for Brass"
(4) John Cheetham "Psycho" (5) Eb unison scale (6) ensemble free improvisation (7) Bb unison scale
(8) Theme from Man of La Mancha (9) John Cage - 4'33" - arranged for quintet
(10) Sousa "The Rifle Regiment March"

Do you mean the John Cheetham "Scherzo"?

[tkdchamp2021]

A lot of the music in the NY Phil's Principal Brass Quintet's CD is great.

[THE TUBA]

* Ewald Quintets
* Arnold Quintet
* Bozza Sonatine
* Die Bankelsangerlieder
* Cheetham's Scherzo
* Bernstein/Gale: West Side Story
* Henderson's The Saint's Hallelujah
* Pretty much any good arrangement of Bach organ works. I think the Little Fugue in G might be the most popular
* Susato's Suite from the Danserye (can't remember the most popular arrangement off the top of my head)
* Ewazen's A Western Fanfare