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8 Euphoniums; For Roger Bobo and "Stuba"

In 4 movements:

1. Hydra

2. Nessie

3. Fafner

4. St. George and the Dragon

4 Euphs, 4 F Tubas and 4 C Tubas; For Roger Bobo and "Stuba"

1. Hydra

2. Nessie

3. Fafner

4. St. George and the Dragon

with Piano

UIL Prescribed Music List: 305-1-30492

Written for Baritone Saxophone and Piano, this is a challening work that is most suited for a college age student. 

Program notes from the composer:

Just as Chagall mixed landscapes, characters, and creatures into a surreal concoction in his paintings, Chagallian Scenes does so in music. So we might start with a march only to dissolve into a waltz with flashes of dissonance morphing into cacophony, or we might settle comfortably into a key when suddenly it veers into an unrelated other. The movements are named after the pictures that inspired them.

The first movement, Promenade, or  Der Spaziergang, opens with cheery walking music appropriate for a man and his lovely lady out for a stroll. But the mood soon  edges into whole tone surrealism reflecting that the pink frocked lady is floating, held down to earth only by the grasp of her companion.

The music for The Wandering Jew  is influenced by the diverse dwellings of the Jewish diaspora, ranging from the Moorish influence of the Andalusia to the Klesmer of New York. 

The third movement, Au Dessus de la Ville (Over the town) has drifting rhythm, like the drifting figures over the town. The scene is dreamy and surrealistic with the music moving in and out of sync.

I And the Village, considered Chagall's most famous painting, cuts from one scene to another as if remembering a lifetime. The man with the scythe  trudges along throughout, listening to the sounds of the village: a goat bleating, a Klesmer violinist, the bells of the Russian Orthodox Church… it is a tapestry of joy and tragedy, hard labor and festive dance.

For Horn, Tuba and Piano: Commissioned by The International Women in Brass Conference, Lin Foulk, Deanna Swoboda, Cimarron Music Press and BVD Press

When I started working on a new work for horn, tuba, and piano, I had no thoughts as to what I would call it or what direction it would take. However, as often happens in composition, the piece took on a life of its own with three movements of contrasting moods. I thought that might be a good name, "Moods,"but I woke up one morning with the word "Colors," on my mind, and that soon morphed into "Color Code." There has been evidence that colors affect one's mood so this seemed a perfect alternative. Also, each movement has a pair of colors to represent the horn and the tuba. 

Now I had to figure out what colors would best represent each movement. The first is dissonant and militaristic with the driving accented rhythm and sudden dynamic changes. The horn and the tuba repeat each other's phrases, almost as in a competition. The quiet middle section has an ominous undercurrent, a lull in the battle. So when I thought about the colors of this movement, it occurred to me that the horn is generally a gold colored instrument and the tuba, silver. (Although it can be either silver or gold, for this purpose I decided it would be sliver.) Thus the name, A Clash of Gold and Silver.

The second movement begins full of tragedy and melancholy calling to mind the dark and forbidding colors of violet and gray. The movement shifts between one shade of despair to another, as in Shifting and Shimmering Shades of Violet and Gray. The opening choral-like section is suddenly interrupted by the repressed anger of the hand muted horn. The tuba and piano join, expressing growing angst until the first theme intercedes with an attempt to calm the anxiety, but it is thwarted again and again until finally a resignation is apparent although it's left to the last movement to brighten the spirits.

What better colors to signify having fun than Champagne and Chocolate! This movement's sprightly and humorous themes, rather tongue in cheek, bring Color Code to a fitting and happy conclusion.

Elizabeth Raum

2 Oboes and English Horn:

I am an oboist, so when I was asked by the Can-Am Oboe Trio to write a new work for them, I felt right at home. For once, I could try out the parts and know if they worked without asking anybody else. My next concern was to figure out a theme that would suit the ensemble as well as offer a unifying thread. Throughout history, the number 3 has had magical connotations and this piece was to be written for a trio so I decided to further the synchronicity by writing three part inventions. That led to an interpretation of the word, “invention,” which in the case of Bach, is a musical form but for most of the rest of the world describes an object that has been newly created for a specific purpose. I decided to combine the two definitions by writing three part inventions with titles describing actual physical inventions. I wrote five movements with their names and styles depicting the following inventions.

1. Spinning Wheel without which we would not have the ability to make cloth. You can hear the turning of the wheel and the up and down of the pedal in the music.

2. Space Through a Telescope evokes the vastness of the universe giving a sense of galaxies and nebula unimaginable distances away.

3. The Telegraph was an invention that allowed people to send and receive messages over long distances. Samuel Morse developed a “language” of dots and dashes to spell words that became the standard means of communication. Morse code for the word, “oboe.” is  --- -... --- . the rhythm upon which this movement is based.

4. Video Games are possibly one of the most ubiquitous inventions of recent times with the accompanying music vying with the movie industry for popularity. This movement has a chase alternating with a superhero.

5. The Dev’lish Angel Horn features the English horn, the lowest voice in the group. The name, “English horn” was originally thought to come from a mistranslation of the French word, anglé since the early English horns were bent. However, more scholarly research has found that it actually refers to the word “Angel” because many of the paintings of the Middle Ages had angels playing a bent woodwind instrument which they called “angelic horn.” In this movement, the “Angelic horn” is a bit of an imp and insists on being naughty at times and going her own way before she is hauled back into the angelic ensemble.

The first movement, Jason and the Argonauts, represents the crew of heroes on the "Argo," the ship built to carry them in their quest for the Golden Fleece.

The Symplegades, or clashing islands, impeded the entrance to the Euxine Sea. These small rocky islands floated on the surface of the water, and in their tossings and heavings occasionally came together to crush anything caught between them. Jason, on the advice of Phineus, let a dove fly through the islands first, and when they clashed, just missing her, Jason passed safely through on the rebound.

Medea was the beautiful and seductive daughter of the Colchian king who owned the powerful sorceress and gives Jason a charm to help him complete the tasks her father demanded that Jason do to win the Fleece. One of those tasks, Sowing the Dragon's Teeth, required that Jason yoke two fire-breathing bulls to a plow and sow the teeth of the dragon which Cadmus had slain and from which would grow a crop of armed men. When this belligerent army rose from the ground, Jason, using the charm Medea had given him, caused such confusion in the ranks of his assailants that they turned on each other until there were none left.

The final movement, The Golden Fleece, comes as a tribute to the success of the group of heroes in their long and difficult quest.

The first movement, Jason and the Argonauts, represents the crew of heroes on the "Argo," the ship built to carry them in their quest for the Golden Fleece.

The Symplegades, or clashing islands, impeded the entrance to the Euxine Sea. These small rocky islands floated on the surface of the water, and in their tossings and heavings occasionally came together to crush anything caught between them. Jason, on the advice of Phineus, let a dove fly through the islands first, and when they clashed, just missing her, Jason passed safely through on the rebound.

Medea was the beautiful and seductive daughter of the Colchian king who owned the powerful sorceress and gives Jason a charm to help him complete the tasks her father demanded that Jason do to win the Fleece. One of those tasks, Sowing the Dragon's Teeth, required that Jason yoke two fire-breathing bulls to a plow and sow the teeth of the dragon which Cadmus had slain and from which would grow a crop of armed men. When this belligerent army rose from the ground, Jason, using the charm Medea had given him, caused such confusion in the ranks of his assailants that they turned on each other until there were none left.

The final movement, The Golden Fleece, comes as a tribute to the success of the group of heroes in their long and difficult quest.

The first movement, Jason and the Argonauts, represents the crew of heroes on the "Argo," the ship built to carry them in their quest for the Golden Fleece.

The Symplegades, or clashing islands, impeded the entrance to the Euxine Sea. These small rocky islands floated on the surface of the water, and in their tossings and heavings occasionally came together to crush anything caught between them. Jason, on the advice of Phineus, let a dove fly through the islands first, and when they clashed, just missing her, Jason passed safely through on the rebound.

Medea was the beautiful and seductive daughter of the Colchian king who owned the powerful sorceress and gives Jason a charm to help him complete the tasks her father demanded that Jason do to win the Fleece. One of those tasks, Sowing the Dragon's Teeth, required that Jason yoke two fire-breathing bulls to a plow and sow the teeth of the dragon which Cadmus had slain and from which would grow a crop of armed men. When this belligerent army rose from the ground, Jason, using the charm Medea had given him, caused such confusion in the ranks of his assailants that they turned on each other until there were none left.

The final movement, The Golden Fleece, comes as a tribute to the success of the group of heroes in their long and difficult quest.