Ben's Brass Blog

  Eric Whitacre's Glow for Horn Choir As a trombonist, I love to hear trombone.  However, if there is one instrument's sound that I love as much trombone, it would be horn.  I have always had such a strong affiliation with the horn sound and wanted to feature some horn literature on the blog.  Originally written for SATB choir, Eric Whitacre's Glow was written for the World of Color Honor Choir as a part of the World of Color.  A link to the vocal recording can be found here . The original text for the song is: "Softly falls the winter snow, whispers to the sleeping world below: "Wintertide awakes," morning breaks and the sets the death aglow. In gentle tones of warmest white, Proclaim the glory of Auroroa’s light. Sparrow wings in a clear clean voice, a sweet, silver carol for the season born. Radiant wings as the skies rejoice, Arise and illuminate the morn. Softly falls the winter snow, whispers to the sleeping world below: "Glow, like the softly fall

 As a trombonist, it is very easy to be too focused in my musical listening.  There are many trombonists and small ensembles that are worth listening to.  As a result, I know that I sometimes avoid large ensembles of other instruments.   For this week, I wanted to remedy that issue by listening to the New York Trumpet Ensemble.   Here is a description of the ensemble from Summit Records: "The New York Trumpet Ensemble was formed and founded in 1974 by Gerard Schwarz in order to record the groundbreaking recording A Festival of Trumpets for NoneSuch records. It was the first recording of many newly discovered works for multiple trumpets by Heinrich Bieber, Samuel Scheidt, Giovanni Gabrieli and other baroque era composers. During the 1980’s, The New York Trumpet Ensemble produced a number of baroque trumpet recordings and performed with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Madeira Bach Festival and the Vermont Mozart Festival. In the 1990’s, Mark Gould assumed the

  In searching for some South American brass ensembles, I came across the group known as La Patrona.  The group is a brass band from Lima, Peru which " is rooted in the tradition of 'fiestas populares,' town fairs common in Latin American villages, which combine fireworks, dancing, music, and religious images" ( https://artscenterlive.org/performance/la-patronal-peruvian-dance-workshop/). The group is made up of two trumpets, two saxophones, a trombone, a sousaphone, congas, and drums.  The group's continued presence has allowed them to both preserve and advance their cultural history.  Generally, the group performs at local town fairs which create a lively atmosphere through fireworks and dancing. Mnozil Brass is a group of Austrian brass players who have become well known for their performative works such as this one.  The group was originally founded by a group of students at the Vienna College of Music in 1992.  The group has established itself as a premier br

 This week I had the pleasure of presenting a series of major works for brass quintet.  The presentation included slightly over 30 minutes of music for brass quintet.  I felt inclined to share some of the works that I found here. Ludwig Maurer (1789-1878)  - 12 Little Pieces for Brass     This performance by the London Brass (previously the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble) showcases the first four pieces of this fantastic work by Maurer (performed 1, 4, 3, 2).  For those who don't know, Maurer was a German composer who moved to Russia at the age of 17.   Maurer performed in Russia until he became the conductor of Count Vsevolozhsky’s orchestra.  Maurer returned to Germany with his children where he maintained his musician’s lifestyle.  Eventually, Maurer returned to St. Petersburg and would remain there for the remainder of his life.      Originally written for two trumpets, two horns, and a trombone, Maurer’s 12 Little Pieces for Brass is a staple in the modern brass quintet repertoi

  Quartet No. 1 By Wilhelm Rams ø e    Performed by the Ewald Brass Quintet Rams ø e is a Danish composer who moved to St. Petersburg around the age of 40 where he became a contemporary of a number of fantastic European musicians who moved to the city in search of musical success.  Notably, Ramsoe had already experienced a great deal of musical success throughout Europe prior to moving to St. Petersburg.   Formed in 1996, the Ewald Brass Quintet has already received a great deal of professional success including first place at the International Brass Quintet Competition.  The Hungarian-based group has published several CDs and has been featured on several major performances throughout Hungary and the rest of Europe.   Rams ø e's Quartet No. 1 is thoroughly enjoyable.  The harmonic language is very easily understandable yet vibrant.  I enjoy the stark contrast in the opening movement between fluid and legato beginning and the rhythmic active and driving finish.  This contrast provid

  After discussing with Professor Manning, I decided to look outside of the United States and Europe for some performances by brass players.  In my search, I stumbled across this recording of members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra performing David Stanhope's "Three Folksongs."  David Stanhope is a British composer who joined the Sydney Opera in 1986.  Stanhope remains active throughout Australia as a composer and performer.   This piece, "Three Folksongs," is inspired by the works of Percy Grainger (who was born Australian).  Written in 1978, there are distinctive calls to Grainger's work while simultaneously taking a slightly more modern approach in the use of timbres.  I find it intriguing that the result of my search was a performance of Australian performers who are playing a piece that was inspired by an American composer (even if he was born in Australia).   As I continue to search for more pieces written and performed outside of the United States an