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Quartet
2021
4 min.
Brass
Horn
More Details
- Program Notes
- Short Pieces for Four Horns is a collection of pieces for horn quartet exploring different musical styles, genres, and notation. The second piece, Pastorale, began with a sketch for horn duo that would later be expanded for horn quartet in late 2021. The techniques used in the piece include com-mon techniques such as glissandi, stopped technique, and the harmonic series of the horn, but also uncommon techniques such as alternate fingerings and extreme stopped technique (a personal term used to describe the stuffing of the hand deep into the bell)¬—both used to achieve the microtones used throughout the piece. The title of the piece may be a misnomer to some, once described as “a pastorale for the wasteland”, however, the piece harkens its ties to nature by the calm structure: Sustained drones, with little ongoing movement; The main motif heard in the beginning; The open to stopped glissandi; A melodic line in quartal harmony towards the end. The piece is also quasi-aleatoric with a rough performance time of 2-3 minutes, letting the performers determine the length of individual cells–so long as the ensemble moves together organically; As well as in one portion, using graphic notation to convey the idea of cacophony for the performers. This piece was a personal exploration of style as a composer, but I hope this piece pushes for more contemporary repertoire for the horn to be written.
- Recording Notes
- PERFORMERS: Chris Dorner Connor Cowart Austin Rushing Tayte Christensen