AN INTENSE BRASS SEXTET. NOW WITH BRAND NEW GPO MP3. IT'S INTENSE!

OMG EDIT!

Mark made me an mp3.

THE INTENSE BRASS SEXTET JUST GOT MORE INTENSE.

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&batch_id=Y2o4WGJJeDMwMEYzZUE9PQ

Okay, so. Last week, I decided to force myself out of a writer's block.

I sat down at my keyboard for 20 minutes and came up with a theme that sounded pretty nice.

Here is that theme in action.

I wrote a brass sextet (a quintet with a euphonium added for fun) that turned out decent.

There are a number of things that I'm not happy with:

Transitions, but I am never happy with those.

The ending: rarely am I able to come up with a good one.

As usual, the piece is kept together with about three reoccuring motives. It's up to you to find them instead of complaining.

Here is the score. There's no point in complaning about that either. It's as neat and clean as I make it at the moment. There are a few problems, but it'll do. Oh, and it's 40 pages long because I don't know how to put two systems on a page. I stuck measure numbers in to make it easier to comment. If I were ever to get this performed, I'd make it as clean as possible, but not now. I have neither the time nor the patience.

000000this is a brass quintet!.pdf

Enjoy. It's intense!

000000this is a brass quintet!.nwc

000000this is a brass quintet!.mid

Personally I think the transitions worked. Some might have been a bit sudden (above all the one around 5:08), but they didn't displease my ears.

I quite like your cinematic language, but I felt you had moments where your harmony didn't exactly fit with the general mood that had been presented beforehand.

I think I hear a parallel 5th at 3:30 btw. Didn't really bother me though. I love your counterpoint in the fast section after that.

I agree with you about the ending. It lacked build up and felt too sudden.

Nevertheless it was a well crafted, enjoyable piece. Keep it up.

"AN INTENSE BRASS SEXTET. YOU HAVEN'T LIVED UNTIL YOU'VE HEARD THIS."

Well golly! I just have to listen to this then!

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Yes, the ending sucks.

Your thematic material could have been any old English Folk song, easily mistakable for Scarborough Fair. And thusly, it sounded very unoriginal. The development was nice, but that theme just sounded too generic.

Your trombone goes too high too often and your tuba goes too low too often. Your trumpets are not being taken advantage of esp. in the upper register.

It would make great movie music for a period film. Knights, castles, rural Scotland, queens that look like 12st century models and certainly not like queens from the time period referenced, and dogs-like creatures that fly.

Mitchell,

A very enjoyable piece! The overall character was clearly defined, yet you had some really good ways of keeping my interest with changes. Some thoughts:

- I especially enjoyed the syncopations/polyrhythms--kept it flowing.

- I thought your use of meter changes, especially in treating the same melodic material differently, provided the kind of effective variety I've already mentioned (it also fit the modal, dance-like character of the piece).

- I would have to agree that my first thought was, "Haven't I heard this melody before--kind of?" Then I saw the reference to Scarborough Fair--of course. Similarity isn't a problem in this folk-like style where so much can sound similar even accidentally. Nonetheless, I was glad when you introduced some very spicy dissonance around ms. 90 and at 216. This made it "your own" and disrupted the kind of lull-me-to-sleep harmonic stasis that would have been an easy trap to fall into.

- I think you are most to be commended for your contrapuntal writing. Vertically, the sections themselves hold together tightly, and there's a lot of interesting interplay that stretches your themes by setting them in new ways. Horizontally, your counterpoint provided a very effective way of "gluing" the sections together; you would sometimes have a solo instrument continue on an old motive while introducing a new theme that fits and spinning off from there.

- While I've just mentioned your section connections, let me say that the stops seem to me entirely appropriate--even desirable--for this kind of piece. As I said above, monotony is a danger here (especially--let's be honest--with a brass ensemble!), so startling stops/starts play to your advantage.

You may have noticed I offer no criticism above. That's because, in a cursory listening, I have none to offer. This piece "works," and works wonderfully. Bravo.

Brooks

I liked this alot. I can see this being played in some type of midevil times or whatnot with kings and knights etc...

The first 0:54 seconds reminded me alot of Scaborough Fair but alot of pieces tend to sound similiar to SOMETHING. So that really didn't bother me at all.

The transitions seem good to me.

The only problem I really had with the piece was the way it ended, seemed too sudden.

I thought your introduction was boring and your transitions too sudden. However I did enjoy when you incorporated all the instruments with a run through of the main theme ..it sounded nice the way you harmonized and orchestrated it. Your "coda" was another enjoyable part of this piece as were the varying and contrasting sections that although probably introduced in a sudden manner, were by themselves executed ok. Good Job overall though, and write something for strings lol.

Like I said when we spoke...would you please tell me what parts you really reworked? I can't really remember enough of the 1st version to pick up on the changes, and you don't seem to have changed a lot.

Actually, seems like I remember you making some mention of changing the instrumentation, but looking again, I seem to see the same ensemble....I'm probably just confused.

Hehe, this was very fun to listen to.

I play french horn myself, and it would be fun to play this. :-)

I think the piece might be nicer if it simply ended on that minor chord at the end, instead of the major one, with the little motif on french horn.

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An mp3 I made for Mitch with my brand spanking new GPO.

I thought I'd post it here so he gets a bump.

Listen to it, it's f*cking intense.

I thought the piece could end with the first beat of m. 239. The stuff afterwards really slowed it down for me.

Some of the harmonies (near the late middle?) sounded a little odd to me, but you may have intended that effect.

I like the interplay throughout the sextet! One thing I like is at mm. 154-158: Seeing that little repeated motif echoing through the french horn and trumpets is cool.

You use the fast 6/8 to also build intensity, which is nice.

I wish I could write like this.

.......not that intense.....

WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME........WHYYYYYYYYYY!?!?!

It's not THAT intense.

I've heard more. But it's brass, it's MADE for intensity.

The great inventor Beethoven himself once said a famous quote: 'I created brass specifically for intensity'.

The beginning sounds like it could fit well in a church hymn..very nice. I agree with you that you that the transitions could be changed somehow...I love, love the material at 110...you have the voices sounding really full and complex with them taking on some character and then it just stops! ah i really wanted to hear more of that idea it was so cool..I hear you come back to it now..but could use more of it again...all of the themes are very nice and are very obvious. I feel that if you wanted to, you could easily extend these ideas into 3 movements..the part around 2:10 is a really neat theme in my mind. I think all of the harmonies are fine and quite interesting, but not displeasing. Now that I hear the opening theme again, it opens just like a church hymn I have heard and then changes..pretty..I dunno. I hear several great ideas and I mean really good ideas..but the more i listen, the more i think that you could have created a much better piece if you would make this into 3 movements or so. the slow theme could create a gorgeous movement. All in all...I think this is a great piece and it displays your knowledge of some modern harmonic ideas..Ok..my big qualm...the ending...picardy third???? please..change it..corny and lame.. Great work though

I definitely enjoyed this piece. There were some interesting rhythms in there. I liked around measure 93 the rhythm you had there. Sounds like a tired person breathing.

On the bad side, I really disliked the intro. It doesn't grab my attention in anyway and is very boring until the trumpet comes in.

Sounds very much like film music though, I could see this being orchestrated for a full orchestra, something you might want to try. I think the first trumpet melody would sound very good on a flute, or possibly flute and clarinet playing together.