Some New Music

[nosenseofstyle]

Hello, everyone! I wrote my first work for euphonium last month that I originally envisioned as something appropriate for a children's audience, but it would work for a general audience as well.

If you're interested, it's all yours. Links are below. I'm not looking to make any money here; I'd just like to add to the repertoire - for better or for worse, though it's my sincere hope that you'll enjoy it and that from your feedback I'll be encouraged to write more works that include the euphonium. I really loved writing for it. The dedicatee, Soup, appears at the top of the fifth movement.

Score and part:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1d6...63o78s8BUUCufs

MIDI recording:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=18l...itSRe5KwsQb8gG

Please send me a message if the links die out so I can replace them with new ones.

Thank you,
Chris

PS. So as not to violate the rules of the forum: While the work is protected by copyright, it's not commercially available for purchase at this time. And, I will not seek to enforce any copyright claim over this work provided that it has been downloaded from the links in this forum message. Really, it's all yours to print, make copies, play in private or public or auditions, share with your students...whatever you'd like to do.

[John Morgan]

Chris,

I just listened to the entire piece while looking at the score and euphonium part. This is a really nice piece of work. In two days!!!! You must have been going non-stop to do this entire piece in 2 days. The accompaniment was also very tasty and felt very appropriate. The high D in the final movement would be a challenge at pp. That is usually not a great note on euphonium. Your MIDI "euphonium" is quite nice sounding, unlike some I have heard. Maybe I haven't listened to the latest MIDI samples.

Out of curiosity, what horn do you play? What else have you written? My initial feedback is "well done" and continue writing for the euphonium.

And, welcome to the Forum!

[nosenseofstyle]

Thank you very much, John, for your kind words and for welcoming me to the forum! I actually started writing this piece on the afternoon of April 1 and wrote the first and second movements that day. The other three movements followed on the 2nd, and took a bit longer - especially the third movement, which went through a number of changes. The 4th and 5th movements really just fell off the pen..it's nice when that happens though it's rare for me. The MIDI is from a product called NotePerformer, which I've become a fan of. The piano leaves something to be desired in my opinion, but some of the other instrumental sounds are really great for MIDI.

I was really on the fence about the high D in the last movement. Not being a brass player at all, I have to admit that I don't know quite how those notes feel as a performer. With your feedback, I'll probably revise it with an octave lower ossia line from bar 27 through bar 30. As nice as that moment might be with the high note, I would much rather the piece be accessible and fun for the performers instead of painful!

I'm actually a flutist/baroque flutist and I can play some piano, though not at a terribly high level. I also played bassoon for a few years during high school and I'm just now starting to get into baroque bassoon. After I graduated with my masters in composition at Indiana University in 2005 I pretty much stopped writing music for about 12 years to concentrate on other things. Since that time, I became a lawyer and clerked for a federal judge in Chicago for a while. It was a great experience, but I really missed composing. So, in late 2017, I started writing again.

Here's what I wrote during 2017 and 2018:

Sonata for Alto Clarinet and Piano (another very tongue in cheek work)
Metina & Permata (a piece for solo b-flat clarinet)
Concerto for Bassoon and Chamber Orchestra (nostalgic, and definitely not my best work)
Octet for flute, clarinet, horn, trumpet, trombone, piano, violin, and cello - this one is ambitious, to say the least. A scrolling score video of the 1st movement is here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ly...Ik_lP59V0RqoM4
Sonatina for Soprano Saxophone and Piano (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LU..._v3U8h5iAVh2xU)

So far during 2019 I've been concentrating on some short works for solo instrument and keyboard, more to get some ideas out and try to have some works intended for students to play:
Sonatina for Oboe and Piano (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kM...rKQhvsu5mys-eQ)
Sonatina for Viola and Piano (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Zk...TT810ogQjkQAM1)
Sonatina for Violin and Piano (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_I...KvVRxtfJFQ48mU)
Cute Little Suite for Cute Little Tuba
Sonatina for Piccolo and Celesta (for those who want a serious headache..haha)

And right now I'm working on a piece for English horn, trumpet, and piano. I finished up the third movement earlier today, and I'm thinking it'll be a total of 5 or 6 movements if I can manage it. I also intend to write a septet later this year, though it'll take a significant amount of time. So it might be next year until I finish it. While I don't always write idiomatic neo-classical works, it seems to be mostly what I'm into over the past nine months or so.

Anyway, thank you for indulging me and allowing me to share some of my work with you and the group!

[lzajmom]

Well I was enticed by the promise of a picture of Soup. Like John, I listened and followed along. I really like it! I agree with everything he said, but respectfully request a full body shot of your inspiration. A picture of Soup in a state of languor would be most excellent. TIA.

[nosenseofstyle]

Well I was enticed by the promise of a picture of Soup. Like John, I listened and followed along. I really like it! I agree with everything he said, but respectfully request a full body shot of your inspiration. A picture of Soup in a state of languor would be most excellent. TIA.

Thank you for giving the piece a listen! Soup's permanent state is that of languor. At the risk of turning this into a cat thread, here you are!

[lzajmom]

At the risk of turning this into a cat thread, here you are!

DOOOOO IIIIITTTTTTT!!!

Just kidding. Sorry, Dave.

Thank you so much for indulging me! I wanna rub that belly soooo badly.

[davewerden]

I like what I hear on the MIDI file - nice work! It reminds me a little of Jacques Castérède, whose pieces are known well by euphonium and tuba players. In any case the pieces flow nicely and it seems would be programmable for various audiences.

The big jumps from below the bass clef to upper notes would probably limit the performance to the better players out there. MIDI can do those with ease, but on a horn they are more of a challenge. At this point in my career I probably would not try them. At my peak it still would have been a challenge. However, today's players face music with such challenges and can probably handle it. (And in my own case, the range from F down to B below the staff was never my strong suit.)

The first movement ends on a low C-flat. That is a problem. It's the one note on a compensating euphonium that is really out of tune - roughly a quarter tone sharp. It can be lipped down, and having a trigger would help some. But it is inherently not a solid note. I think an 8va option would be good there (it is fine in that octave). It can be played very softly in that 8va range, which might achieve the effect you want.

I personally am less concerned about the high D mentioned above (I'm not saying it's easy, mind you). As John said, it is not a great note, and a few years ago in conversing with some of the top players in the field we all lamented that note! But for me, I'd probably use the fingering 12 in that context. I think it could be played effectively with no vibrato, which would help me to not lose center on that somewhat delicate note. The 8vb option is a good idea, though.

In IV the 3 octaves of B natural in eighth note rhythms will cause some gripes. The high B is a fussy note. But in that case I think we players should not gripe, and just figure out how to do it. The same pattern on C in the next sequence would not raise eyebrows, so as players it's one of the "hardships" that we should learn to deal with. Just sharing some insider stuff here - you can actually ignore this paragraph!

Those are my thoughts offhand. When I have a chance I'll print off the solo part and see how it flows for me. Looks like fun!

[nosenseofstyle]

Thank you very much for all that great feedback, Dave! I'll definitely have to check out Castérède's work as I'm not familiar with him. If you do end up trying a play through of the solo part I'd love to hear what you think.

I'm actually pretty happy that there are some quirks that will make the piece sound a little odd - such as the low C-flat at the end of the first movement (I thought those last five notes might end up sounding pretty muddy down there) or that the high B in the fourth movement that may or may not speak right. Overall, I think a performance of the Suite would be enhanced with a childish sense of adventure with all the imperfections that might come with such an interpretation.

By the way, I saw your video of Weber's Andante and Hungarian Rondo, one of my favorite pieces from back in my bassoon days. Very impressive - it sounded great!