Opus 151

Sonata for Brass Choir (1999)

for Brass Choir (3 Trumpets [1 C/2 Bb], 3 Horns, 2 Trombones, Tuba)

Chicago Brass Choir; Michael Stewart, conductor

Duration: 8 min.

Dedication: for Michael Stewart and the Chicago Brass Choir

Commission: Commissioned by the Broeker Fund for New Music for the Chicago Brass Choir

Publisher: Musik Fabrik

Performance materials available from the publisher.

Sonata for Brass Choir (1999) was written for and is dedicated to Michael Stewart and the Chicago Brass Choir with funding from the Broeker Fund for New Music. The work is in three movements.

The first movement, Fanfare and Tuckets, contains elements of a traditional fanfare as well as a few harmonic surprises.

The second movement, Arioso, is pervaded throughout by a descending ostinato figuration in the horns and occasionally in the trombones. Melodies and melodic fragments emerge in the other instruments deriving themselves from the ostinato pattern.

The third movement, Dance, contains elements of the dance form known as the “furiant” (distinguished by its metrical pattern consisting of alternating bars of 3/4 and 3/8 time). A driving pulse is explored throughout as the work presses on to its conclusion.