Trumpet and Piano

with Piano

Arranger Joseph Ardovino says, “Despite the fact that Tomaso Albinoni appears to have enjoyed a large following among his contemporaries, few details of his life are known. This work begins with an Allegro, typical of the model established in Albinoni’s late period. It maintains the typical three movement form, fast-slow-fast. Accompanying the trumpet in the original version is a small wind ensemble with continuo consisting of three oboes, bassoon and continuo… This offers a modern performance edition of an important piece from one of the great composers of the Baroque period.”

with Piano

This arrangement of Down By the Salley Gardens for trumpet and piano is based on a melody first composed by Herbert Hughes, and later made famous in an arrangement by Benjamin Britten. The text is taken from a poem by W.B. Yeats.

with Piano

This piece is in four movements:

1. Morning Stroll

2. Watching the Clouds

3. Sultry Tango

4. Out ‘n About

It is a nice challenge for the college performer.

with Piano

"Coro a bocca chiusa" from Madama Butterfly

First performance 17th February 1904, Milan (La Scala).

It’s one of the most touching moments of the great Italian composer Giacomo Puccini's opera. 

The feeling of depressed wait created by the famous melody, sung by the closed mouth chorus, is represented in this arrangement by the evocative sound of the Trumpet that exalts all his dramatic sweetness. 

C Trumpet with Piano

Kupala Night is an ancient pagan fertility festival that takes place once a year on June 21. The music is meant to conjure the feeling of a the forest at night with young couples carrying out the ancient customs meant to induce fertility and love. Michael Fedyshyn, for whom the concerto was written, has Ukrainian background which inspired the subject of this concerto.

The first movement is the Dance of the Young Men, full of vigor, trying to attract the young women.

The second movement, Floating Wreaths, depicts the girls floating wreaths of candle-lit flowers on the river in hopes that the direction the wreaths take will foretell their future loves. The music opens with three currents from the river, each carrying a group of wreaths. The men try to capture the wreaths to impress the girls. The movement starts with three themes flowing into each other joined by the trumpet representing the young men. The triplet motif of the first movement is repeated in the second. The calm of the initial floating of the wreaths is interrupted by a group of young men showing off to the girls with their dancing.

The third movement is Searching for the Flowering Fern, which flowers only on Kupala Night has the young couples going through the forest seeking the elusive Flowering Fern, which, if they can find it, will bring them good fortune. The movement is mainly written in Lydian mode, with the raised fourth. Many ancient cultures felt the modes had an influence on the mood of the listener with the Lydian mode evoking youth and mystery. Close to the end, when the mist is again rising, themes from previous movements are heard in the muted trumpet, like spirits.

C Trumpet with Piano (mvt. 3 comes with alternate Bb Flugel part)

The idea behind the title, Lines and Trajectories is that each movement begins with an idea, or line, but the trajectory takes it to another place. As in life, when you start out, you never know where your trajectory will take you.

1. Prelude and Fuguestarts with a complex, almost belligerent line in unison (Prelude). The parts separate gradually into their own line and while the original theme remains more or less the same, each statement has small “corrections,” bringing the lines more into harmony. Eventually, the lines compliment each other, the rhythm stabilizes and the chordal progressions become harmonious until a theme derived from the original somewhat chaotic line of the opening becomes the first statement of a fugue, perhaps the most organized of musical forms. The whole fugue is made up of themes from the prelude.
   
   
2. Mystery Garden opens with the solo trumpet over an atmospheric progression of nebulous chords giving a sense of a misty morning in an out of focus garden. As the movement progresses, the piano provides a minimalistic, raindrop-like background to support the solo line which ends unexpectedly as if caught in a gust of wind.
   
   
3. Song begins with a more consonant line that leads to a tender hearted song in a lilting 9/8 meter that expresses, sincerity, friendship, or even romance.
   
   
4. Triangles and Tangles starts out as a cheerful waltz but conflicts soon arise where each line of music has its own idea of both key and meter creating a bit of a tangle. The participants become aggressive, struggling against each other, morphing into 4/4, 6/8, or even 5/4, keys slipping into each other trying to dominate, but somehow, never escaping its destiny of being a somewhat lopsided waltz.