I’ll be writing a Magnificat for this excellent ensemble, Gaudete Brass later this year—yes, a Magnificat for brass quintet. They sound fabulous! Listen to them playing here, one of the instrumental sections from Vespers.
The original is for Renaissance instruments, which are pitched a half-step higher, so Gaudete played this Sonata up one half-step, in Eb. So it sounds in the same key as what Piffaro plays. This page has all the notes, and audio samples, for all of Vespers.
Thank you Paul Von Hoff and Gaudete Brass, for this opportunity! I’m looking forward so much to working with you!
I love this. I am partial to instrumental music more than vocal (sorry) tho your use of vocals in the Vespers is as another instrument. The fact that this is basically a Ren-based (not entirely, I know) piece restructured for a modern brass ensemble is exciting stuff to me. I went to the Vespers page and listened to the Sonata A5 clip with your original instrumentation and love how your Ren-based piece using Ren instruments has such a contemporary presence. Both are unique presentations of the same material and show how your composition allows for such diverse interpretations. Of course, I’m partial to the early music ensemble, too! And the other Sonata A5 clip with Ren guitar…love it: Ren- playfulness with a 21st century vitality and freshness.
By composing a brass quintet Magnificat you’ll be taking church form into a contemporary realm by just that change in instrumentation alone…But of course you know that…I’ll be interested in hearing how you craft this one. Keep us posted on its progress!
Hi Laura, and thanks! If I thought about taking something and moving it into another realm I’d probably just freeze up, so I don’t think that way, but I know what you mean. The dancing, the moving, and colors of the Renaissance instruments and styles are what attract me, I suppose, so that’s what I tried to do. “Playfulness” is a good word: thank you!
Kile