Tuba

unaccompanied

I. Intrada

II. Air

20 Duets for Low Brass is perfect for a get together with a friend or for a teacher and student. This set includes pieces from Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, etc.

The 24 Trios from Reicha have been expertly arranged by Norman Pearson.

This set will work great in any setting and is particularily effective in a recital.

with Piano or downloadable backing tracks

Giulio Marco Bordogni (1789-1856), usually called Marco Bordogni, was an Italian operatic tenor and singing teacher of great popularity and success, whose mature career was based in Paris. Bordogni was born in Gazzaniga, near Bergamo, Italy. He was a product of the exceptional Bergamo tenor school which originated with Giacomo David and Gaetano Crivelli, and in which can also be counted, in addition to David’s two best pupils, his son Giovanni and Andrea Nozzari, the excellent Domenico Donzelli and Giovanni Battista Rubini. Bordogni made his operatic debut at La Scala, Milan in 1813 in Rossini’s Tancredi, and became very active in promoting that composer’s music. He appeared in many of Rossini’s operas in their premieres in various towns and theaters. In 1825 he created the role of Conte di Libenskof in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims. He sang for many years at the Theatrea des Italiens in Paris. He became a teacher at the Paris Conservatoire in 2810 and continued to teach there until shortly before his death in Paris. He was the author of a published singing method, and composed many sets of vocalizes which remained in use by singers for a century afterwards. They remain popular as transcriptions for many instrumentalists today. He was probably the single most influential teacher of the English tenor Sims Reeves, who came to study with him in 1843, Bordogni was awarded the Legion d’Honneur on May 10, 1839 by M. de Gasparin, at the same time that it was awarded to Director of the Opera Duponchel, and to composer Hector Berlioz, who wrote that Bordogni was the best singing-master of the time.

- Alessandro Fossi

1. Kyrie - Plainchant

2. Cantiones Duarum Vocum - Lassus

3. Missa Dies Sanctificatus (Kyrie) - Palestrina

These three pieces were arranged for "Capital Thunder", the tuba/euphonium ensemble at Capital University.  While the initial intent was to create practical arrangements for teaching, the pieces work equally well in the concert hall.   The first movement is a plainchant Kyrie with the voices paired in octaves and unisons with each voice getting the chance to play with each other. It is a vehicle for working on intonation, but also captures the mysterious essence of Gregorian chant.  The arrangement is true to the traditional call and response nature of the Kyrie.  The second movement is a two-voice piece, again arranged so that all voices change pairings throughout.  The third movement is a true four-voice setting with total independence for all parts.

with Percussion

James Grant writes:

When I received the message from the Moreau VanTuinen Duo (Danielle Moreau, percussion; Danielle VanTuinen, euphonium) and Deanna Swoboda, tuba, that they wanted to collaborate with me on creating a trio for their instruments, I immediately thought, “Well now, here comes some fun…!” In our initial skype meeting we decided that the new piece would be through-composed, ca. 10 minutes in duration, and would feature a blend of serious, crazy, and lyrical music; that I would fashion a separate version of the new piece to feature French horn in the same role as euphonium; and that we would invite a small group of adventurous colleagues to become co-commissioners of this new composition (see List of Commissioners page).

The result is 3D, music that touches on three distinct “mood dimensions.” A somber, evocative introduction leads to an explosive, rhythmically-charged, comically crazy joy ride, which yields to a rhapsodic duet between the two horns supported by any undulating moto perpetuo accompaniment in the marimba. That’s the piece, in a nutshell.

The three Lead Commissioners, Deanna, Danny (VanTuinen), and D (Moreau) could not have been more gracious and helpful during the composing of 3D, answering questions and offering feedback on sketches and ideas. Indeed, their fingerprints are all over this music.

The title, 3D, takes its name not only from the three distinct musical dimensions this music explores. It also represents a nod of respect to the three Lead Commissioners, whose excitement and support for this project captured my imagination from the very start. To Deanna, Danny and D, and to each of the stalwart participating co-commissioners, I offer my deepest gratitude.

with Piano

From the editor:

The pieces in this volume came from a collection of 18 Gorgheggi, 4 Solfeggi and 12 Nuovi Vocalizzi by Gioachino Rossini (1702-1868). The Gorgheggi are scale patterns and exercises for learning, turns, ornaments and other embellishments. The 4 Solfeggi are training pieces that are much more musical than the Gorgheggi. They are melodic, have accompaniments, and are functionally wordless songs. I would put these in a similar category to several of the Kopprasch horn etudes; quite musical, but still primarily pedagogical in nature. While an effective performer can bring enough musicianship to these to make them viable exam jury or recital repertoire, they still have the feel of training pieces due to the limited ranges, simpler harmonic designs, repeated melodic figures, etc. The Vocalizzi (published separately by Potenza in versions for both euphonium and tuba) have much more depth than the Solfeggi, and stand on their own merit amongst the more serious works of Rossini. They are the equal to-albeit in a different style than- Rachmaninov’s famous Vocalise Op. 34 No. 14.

These Rossini etudes are another entry into the realm of performative-yet-pedagogical material. They are truly in the bel canto style, yet to my ear, have more depth than your average Bordogni etude. Each of these etudes requires-or develops-flexibility, beauty of sound, and the utmost lyricism possible for brass musicians.

These etudes are ideal for either unaccompanied or accompanied performance, with the included piano accompaniment making them especially suitable for lesson, juries, and solo recitals.

4th Avenue Suite is a composition set for three euphoniums and three tubas. Its inspiration comes from a vacation at North Carolina’s Outer Banks when we were staying in a rental house on 4th Avenue. The tunes are derived from a sequence of numbers used to open the digital door lock of the house for that week. The numbers, 3 6 8 2 4 3, are employed by their numerical placement in a musical scale. I thought: “What if; these numbers could be made into a tune (or several)?” The entire suite is not confined to these notes, but the tunes in the movements have grown out of this sequence. To construct several generations from a set of notes seemed enough, so no attempt has been made to relate the movements to events or situations. The movements are subtitled as follows: I. Intrada; II. Intermezzo; III. Minuet; and IV. Finale. The challenge level is Medium to Medium Difficult. All players are utilized in important roles and the composition offers various combinations of featured players, sections with just euphoniums or just tubas, and total ensemble. Learn More