For our Brass Ensemble Literature class, we are each required to compile a number of playlists of brass music for the class to listen to. Below is a link to my first list. These pieces are different from the ones usually featured on this blog because they are works written specifically for brass groups.
By clicking on the link above, you can follow any of the links on this document to find out more about the pieces and composers on this list. For now, I'll give a brief description of each of the pieces and include links to recordings.
Music for His Majesty's Cornetts and Sackbutts was written by Matthew Locke in 1661, while he was working as composer-in-ordinary to King Charles II. Locke also served as private organist to the King's wife, Catherine of Braganza. While there is little information on this piece in particular, Locke is known for his instrumental music that doesn't completely conform to most Baroque "rules." This is clear in his Music for His Majety's Cornetts and Sackbutts, which seems less tidy than other pieces from the same era.
Funeral March in Memory of Richard Nordraak (Sorgesmarj over Richard Nordraak) was originally a piano piece that Edvard Grieg wrote for his friend and fellow composer. Grieg later re-orchestrated the piece for brass ensemble, and for wind band. This piece was played for Grieg's own funeral, at the composer's request.
Scenes from the Bayou was commissioned by the faculty brass trio at the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 2016. The composer, Gina Gillie, teaches horn and composition at Pacific Lutheran University, and wrote the movements based on scenery in the Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge. In listening to the piece, one cannot help but be drawn into the "Scenes of the Bayou" that the composer so clearly paints in the music. Also of note is the great writing that Gillie does for brass trio, making the three voices blend so well together that they often sound like more than three instruments playing at a time.
Northampton Quickstep is a piece that would have been played by the brass bands of the American Civil War, particularly those of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Thomas Coates was the leader of this band, and wrote the piece for these men. Quicksteps were often played in military bands, as a way to keep time while marching. Today the Coates Brass Band keeps Thomas Coates' legacy alive by recreating the Infantry Band and performing his music.
3am Bounce was written for the group No BS Brass by one of its founding members, Reggie Pace. The piece depicts a conversation about some of life's heavier topics occurring at 3:00am. In the middle of the song, the "conversation" becomes obvious between solo instruments. This song appeared on the group's 2015 CD, "Brass Knuckles."
Clearly all of these composers knew that these pieces would be
Better in Brass, and we thank them for adding to our repertoire!
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