This is a composition for trumpet and piano with many influences, both stylisitic and formal. Conceptually the piece obviously recalls Rachmaninoff's work by the same title for cello and piano, the lyrical character and steady accompanyment of which I wished to emulate. Stylistically I had in mind the Marcello Oboe concerto in C minor second movement, which is beautifully rendered on trumpet (Maurice André), with the monotonous eighth-note rhythms from which the piece evolves and grows. The structure of my piece is a simple progressive period which moves away from tonic (b-minor), cadences in a few keys and then finally moves back to the tonic).
The challenge of this work chiefly lies in ensuring that the relentless eighth-note pulse doesn't get boring. I tried to enrich the texture in the piano to combat this and create interest. I am concerned that the figurations may be technically difficult to execute, as I do not play the piano myself and am worried a bit about the stretch of them (any advice from pianists?) I am fairly confident about the trumpet part in this respect since it is my primary instrument.
Finally, I don't know quite how to label the piece's style. In a certain respect it seems almost neo-baroque/romantic, and it pretty much uses functional harmony throughout. I would like to develop my own compositional voice and I am not sure if this is such an original composition for those reasons, but at least it is a step toward searching for a style of my own. Any comments would be appreciated. I am going to try to have the piece performed soon.
Thanks
Here is a mp3 of it from Finale:
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/1/...%20trumpet.mp3