Best band music for euphonium

[mclaugh]

Best band music for euphonium

Originally posted by: WyoBadger

Originally posted by: uieuph

This is a transcription from Fantasy on the Dargason from Holst's Second Suite in F. Needless to say, with all strings, it sounds very lackluster especially with a cello trying to play the euphonium part.

There oughta be a law against that!

Well, considering that Holst finished composing St. Paul's Suite for Orchestra, Op. 29 no. 2 (1912) a year after Second Suite in F (1911), I'd say he had the right to do whatever the heck he wanted to with it.

[redvsblue]

Best band music for euphonium

i personally like 4 scottish dances, im not a marches kind of guy. 3rd mvmnt is my fav, but i like all of them except the last one, very tricky trying to get through that accelerando.

[redvsblue]

Best band music for euphonium

if i had to choose a march, then it would be circus bee, its so energetic and most recordings have the band flying by the end (like us). btw, for those who havent played it, the tempo marking given it simply "fast" and thats it.

Now, that i think about it, english folk song suite was very fun (2nd mvt is my favorite, key of f minor i think, then f major, then back). or havendance, or most of steven reineke's music, or irish tune from county derry or 2 grainger melodies (small euph solo in second mvt). all of thhem are beautiful. also, our director loves euph music, in case u guys cant tell

[noise]

Best band music for euphonium

Hmm...so many to choose from! I do like both Holst suites; I have only played the first, but I enjoy hearing both of them.

Now, the Hunsberger transcription of Shostakovich's "Festive Overture" is a doozy, but it was nevertheless among the most fun pieces I've ever played. I also love Hindemith's "March from Symphonic Metamorphoses".

And, of course, "When Jesus Wept". (Well, maybe "fun" isn't the word for this one...but beautiful nonetheless.) IMHO, the orchestral version and its oboe/bassoon duet, while good, can never match the band version for beauty.

Like Walt said, can't pick just one.

[Jasonium]

Best band music for euphonium

I agree noise, I have played when jesus wept with my high school band and it was amazing fun for me.. (it wasn't too much fun for everyone besides the euph and the trumpet/cornet)

[flightdoc89]

Best band music for euphonium

not a tough song at all, but I loved The Mad Major. just an outright fun piece.

Not a march, but another song I really missed from high school was Greensleeves. I don't remember who composed the arrangement (EDIT: the Alfred Reed arrangement) we had, but I was hands-down the most beautiful song I've played (granted, my playing experience is limited to high school band level and below, but still...). I wouldn't call our arrangement a 'euphonium song,' but the euphs were what gave that arrangement its soul. I've come close to crying at the climax of that piece while we were playing.

[FoCoEupher]

Best band music for euphonium

There is really a lot of good band music out there with great euph parts. The first piece that I played as a true euphonium player, not a rouge trumpet, was Amparita Roca. It's just a fun piece, and it the euphonium part is always moving. The euph parts starts with a long, low, run of 8th notes, and then after that it's always on the melody or an awesome counter melody.

Another great piece to play is Elsa's Proccesion to the Cathedral from Wagner's opera, Lohengrin. I had the great pleasure of getting to play it in my high school band last year WITH our local college band, Colorado State University. It was an awesome experience to have two entire bands playing it, especially when we got to the big, brass finale towards the end. The entire concert hall was rubling, and the woodwinds could only comment on the brass the next day.

Holst's 2nd Suite is obviously really fun to play as a euphonium player, but I have to say, his 1st Suite is infinitely more interesty from a theory view. The way he inverts the first melody and creates a seemingly new, minor melody is just genious.

A few other fun pieces are Contre Qui Rose, Fantasy on a Japanese Folk Song, and El Camino Real.

This is all also from a high school seniors point of view, so y'all can take it with a grain of salt.

[HighSchoolBariEuph]

Best band music for euphonium

The pieces that my HS wind ensemble are playing right now are:

Ghost Train - Eric Whitacre - Heavy euph all throughout

Burst - Sean O'Loughlin - Nice and easy piece

Galop - Dmitri Shostakovich - Not my favorite as it has almost no distinct Euph sound to it

Chester (an Overture For Band) - William Schuman - byfar my favorite

and of course:

Stars and Stripes Forever - Sousa

They aren't really too heavy on the bass. Alot of tuba parts though.

[blueeuph]

Best band music for euphonium

There's a couple of pieces which The Brandon Community Band (which I play 1st euph) that have neat uses of the euphonium.

Kaddish by W. Francis McBeth. The euphonium part alternates being a cello like background (often with the tuba) and some neat mid to high stuff which is doubled in the horn parts (too bad we don't have horns however ). The range goes up to a high C towards the end of the piece.

Nemu Susato by Jan Van der Roost. Its a Renaissance style like piece which has 2 euphonium parts most of the piece. The euph. part has the melody in most of the piece. There's a muted section in one spot which I'm not going bother using a mute. The counting is a bit tricky in the second half of the piece. Its goes into 3/4 but its 1 however there's a few spots which has a few 3/2 measures bracketed above the measures. It looks harder then it looks thankfully.

[rblockwood]

Best band music for euphonium

My vote is for the band transcription of the Verdi Requiem (if my memory is correct, it was marked as the Manzoni Requiem, Manzoni being the deceased person for whom Verdi wrote the piece).

Also from memory, if this piece shows up on your stand: (1) bring your best technical chops and (2) don't sit anywhere near the bass drum.

NC_Amateur_Euph
Greensboro, NC

[montywestmeyer]

Best band music for euphonium

I have always loved the solo in Holst's Second Suite, and I too sometimes cracked that "G"! It takes a lot of work....I think the difficulty comes in depressing two valves and blowing thru more tubes than just one -- what's more, if one does not guage the playing dynamics correctly, valves 1 + 2 can unwittingly play an "A" (vs. "G").

I'm also a fan of Percy Aldridge Grainger (his stage name...his actual name was George Percy Grainger), and really loved "Lincolnshire Posy" -- have not played it for many, many years, and I truly miss it!

[scapino]

Best band music for euphonium

The Manzoni Requiem is my favorite piece to listen to

http://www.alfred-music.com/in...?=&manufacturers_id=37

[bassbill]

Best band music for euphonium

Has anyone ever played Karl King's THE GOLDEN DRAGON? I played it in HS in the late 1950's and it has a wonderful euph solo. Now, I can't find a recording of it anywhere, and I've looked all over the internet. If you know of a recording of this piece, please let me know.

[uieuph]

Best band music for euphonium

I've played it but have never seen a recording for it.

[mikey70]

Best band music for euphonium

For marches, I think Colonol Bogey March and King Cotton have nice euph parts.