Frontier -Three Miniatures for Brass and Percussion Section

So yeah. I'm posting some more music. This one is a 'suite' for brass and percussion. The thing that got me started was the news theme for the local news station here in Newfoundland. So I used a teensy three note motive to keep these three movements related. Becuase you'll be able to tell that they're extremely unrelated without knowing it. I've been working on this since around July or August.

I certainly wouldn't call this a suite, but it has three movements:
1. Overture. Hopefully it sounds like a good beginning. The trumpet solo there introduces the motive that keeps everything running nicely.

2. Frontier. I think it sounds spacey, and it's the reason I chose this name for the 'suite'. The celeste here is probably impossible to play. I may fix this later on in my life. This is by far my favourite movement out of the three.

3. Finale. Here, I mix a lot of elements from the first two, and bunch it together in a bundle of snacky happiness. You'll get to hear main parts from the themes of each movement put together in one at the end, which I think isn't nearly as satisfying as it should be.

Enjoy!

(To anyone who is using the NWC files, the parts are not transposed. They are written in concert pitch)

Nicely done. I have found some of your previous works to be a little harmonically static, but you'll hear no such complaint in this instance - Frontier in particular breaks new ground for you, does it not?

I have doubts about your orchestration, in particular how low you make the horns go, but that isn't hugely important at this stage. I do however think that it would be worthwhile for you to get your music performed by a band at some point, and for that you would need to take much greater care with the orchestration.

Thanks for sharing!

I am surprised that these miniatures have not been given the rightful amount of attention, they are indeed very nice pieces

I cannot comment anything about the orchestration, which Mike mentions in his post, since I do not have Finale available for the moment. Judging from the midi files, which certainly is not the most ideal way to base ones opinion over a piece, I really like what I hear. It sound very you, if you understand what I mean. For example, in the last piece, the tempo is at first rather slow. What you love to do is to increase it quickly into some rapid cat and mouse chase speed

I like these pieces, I should take a closer look when time allows me

What an enjoyable set of contrasting movements that are artfully unified, Mitchell!
I really enjoyed finding your creative use of the three-note theme throughout, which you worked into such different moods.

Here's some things I particularly liked and some suggestions:

Mvt. 1:
-the syncopation at 1:15 created a great climactic point
-I enjoyed the quintal harmony near the end; you know brass style!
-from what I could tell, :54 was an effort to accomplish the transition by repeating the same phrase at a faster tempo before introducing the new material. To my ear, this technique sounded a little disjointed, like simply "fast forwarding" or something; if you altered the melody/harmony on the faster second phrase, that my improve things.
-After the sudden drop in dynamic at 1:22, the resolution at 1:38 sounds preety satisfying, even without the 3rd. However, since you follow that resolution by yet another progression ending with a piccardy, I might maintain some of the tension the first time around. Perhpas you can still resolve both times, but a few strident notes in the chords after 1:22 may make the second cadence sound more settling and final in comparison, as opposed to a phrase that one could go without.

Mvt. 2:
-a wonderful use of the 3-note theme with tertian (3rd) chord relationships
-I like the celeste solo; don't know if it's doable, but I hope so!
-I love the use of multiple meter feels by the overlapping rhythms (3/4 at beginning, then 4/4 on top with brass entry, then celeste 6/8 triplets). One suggestion would be to somehow smooth out the change from solo to all brass. I know a strong, settled entry makes sense, and it would probably sound weird to have the solo continue without a breath into the change. I guess all I'm saying is that the meter change is so sudden my ear wants some kind of continuity. On the other hand, the meter change might itself be the reason to keep the sections distinct. Up to you.
-at 1:10, you keep the motion going well with the underlying perc. rhythm. I would also have enjoyed a little more harmonic or melodic variety for shape, but perhaps you were creating a build by the repetition. Having the same progression certainly isn't bad; keeping it simple and coherent in a miniature is a good idea, as you know. The rhythm change at 1:36 did provide a needed peak.
-the whole movement has a playful, slightly whimsical (celeste, harmony) sound. I'd experiment with accenting that by some kind of surprise at the end (celeste strike? syncopation/ending on "and" of 1?).

Mvt. 3:
-Good use of M/m 3rd in harmony/phrase structure.
-5/8 (5/4?) was nice
-the unique harmonic twists were really engaging--bravo! such as:
* 55--the way the perc.'s harmony fit with the melody on top (perhaps it was just the midi, I don't know; it sounded like a sharp harmony, though)
* 1:05--brass chords = ferocious!
* 51--what an original and unexpected chromatic change!
-just one little suggestion for the end: exaggerate it/jack up the energy! You had such a "grab-me-by-the-throat" drive going before 1:10, at which point you provided a nice momentary relapse, where you reintroduced the mvt. 2 sound. Then, however, I would jump back to those raspy ff chords in the brass and a few creative, unexpected harmonic changes before landing forcefully on tonic. I've heard some really wonderful brass pieces that end similar to yours but take your ear in a final, powerful tangent before a crashing finish (I'm talking about just a couple extra seconds/chord changes); you could do the same by adding a few more chords than just VI-VII-I at the end.

Again, such fine work. You have an excellent piece here.
Brooks

Okayyy here we go.

Movement I: Classic. I don't have much I think you should change here. I think the accelerando is a little out of place, and I think you could have had a section of much less similar texture. Instead you had an out of place coda of that nature . Then again, these are miniatures, and there isn't a whole lot of room to develop in such a time frame that you have given yourself, but you could have expanded that. For 2 minutes, the only thing I think that needs to be commented on is the, at least, interesting structure .

Movement 2: The first thing I noticed was that the title really matched the piece. Nice celesta, too . I think the runs would have been done better with woodwinds and this piece you should re-orchestrate for full orchestra (just as a fun side project...arranging is good orchestration practice, too!). You had some different textures and moods in this one, which I liked. The dissonant chords seemed a bit out of place, but perhaps they were meant to portray something I didn't catch, (the listener always has to take that into account ).

Movement III: The mellow beginning is very misleading. I was about to make a comment about the harmonic and textural similarity of the movements, but...I LOVE the element of surprise, and you forced me to throw that comment in the trash! This is the most brilliant of the movements I have to say. The movement harmonically and literally was very very well done.

I loved this small work of yours, Mitchell. I just wish they were bigger! You could have done so much more with them (maybe you will soon enough or someday?). Then again, I've always been a giant wedding cake type of composer. Sometimes, you have to write a belgian chocolate if you know what I mean. And you have done so very well!

Nico