for Brass Trio - Trumpet, Horn and Bass Trombone
1. (00.00 )Heraldry: Heraldic fanfares and general brassy doings!
2. (3:23) What’s the Buzz About?: A fly interrupts an elderly couple’s nap in the living room.
The Trumpet is the fly and the Horn and Trombone the elderly couple. The movement
starts with the man and woman yawning and getting comfortable. As the buzz of the fly
starts you can hear the ruckus of them trying to hit it. In the middle they think they have
killed it and celebrate with a phrase from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. But to no avail.
The fly recuperates and is back to buzzing about. You can hear the woman say (Horn)
“what?” and the man (trombone) saying “ I don’t know”. The battle ensues again with the
fly having the last word!
3. (7:50) Three Hymns from the Sea: Three hymns connected to the sea in one way or another
follow each other twisting and turning in variations. “Nearer My God to Thee’ is said to
have been played by the orchestra on the Titanic as it was sinking. “It Is Well With My
Soul” was written by hymnist Horatio Spafford while crossing the Atlantic. His family was
in a ship that left before his. While on board he got a message that his children were lost
in the 1st ship’s sinking. His wife survived. “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me” talks of “life’s
tempestuous sea” with many maritime references.
4.(13:42) Fanfarondo!: A combination of fanfares in Rondo.
Any of the four movements of this “Little Symphony” may be played as a separate entity
apart from the whole. The entire piece runs approximately 18 minutes.