Emoticons Movement III

This is the third movement of my latest three-movement composition for tuba/euphonium quartet called Emoticons. It is being composed as a result of a commissioning consortium consisting of the Tarnished Brass - Rowlett, TX, the University of North Carolina - Greensboro, NC, the Triangle Tuba Quartet - Durham, NC, the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, TN, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - Chattanooga, TN, and Kansas State University - Manhattan, KS. More groups are welcome to the join the consortium as the deadline for expressing interest has been extended until June 30, 2015. For more information, please visit http://www.cooppress.net

The idea behind Emoticons is to symbolically represent emotions and this last movement is Euphoria. As you can see and hear, it is in a fast tempo and is in a rondo form ABACABA. The tonality is major with some borrowed chords to spice things up. There are frequent modulations to add variety to the tonality.

The A section is very rhythmic as it alternates meters of 6/8 with meters where the quarter note gets the beat. The eighth note remains constant throughout these meter changes. I used 2/8 instead of 1/4 because I thought it would be less confusing, but the 2/8 has one quarter note beat in it. Sudden shifts in dynamics are used in the A sections to add interest since the A section occurs four times.

The B sections also have meter changes but the quarter note beat dominates with an occasional 3/8 thrown in.

The C section is the central section and is in 4/4 time and more legato for contrast. It begins with the two tubas, then adds canons with the top three instruments while the 2nd tuba does a staccato accompaniment, and finally the melody appears in the 2nd euphonium while the other parts accompany. The A and B sections are primarily C major while the C section explores the mediant keys E major and Ab major, before moving to A major for the last statement.

Your comments are always appreciated.

Dr. B

Emoticons Movement II

This is the second movement of my latest three-movement composition for tuba/euphonium quartet called Emoticons. It is being composed as a result of a commissioning consortium consisting of the Tarnished Brass - Rowlett, TX, the University of North Carolina - Greensboro, NC, the Triangle Tuba Quartet - Durham, NC, the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, TN, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - Chattanooga, TN, and Kansas State University - Manhattan, KS. More groups are welcome to the join the consortium as the deadline for expressing interest has been extended until June 30, 2015. For more information, please visit http://www.cooppress.net

The idea behind Emoticons is to symbolically represent emotions, in this case, loneliness. I do that by using a slow tempo, minor modes, wandering chromaticism, and frequent descending melodic lines.  One way to understand this movement is to observe the four groups of musical ideas that are use. The first is measures 1-4 which uses the wandering chromaticism. The second is measures 5-9 that has the descending line with the triplet figure, often in imitation. The third group is the eighth-quarter-eighth syncopation that is more vertical in structure utilizing minor chords, chords in 4ths, and extended tertian harmony. Much of the harmony in this section is derived by letting each part find the direction it wants to go while keeping in mind the overall vertical structure. These ideas first appears at measures 10 and 11. The last idea is the sixteenth note minor melodic line that is accompanied by the syncopated harmony. It first appears at measures 12-15.

The overall form is ABA. The first two sections mentioned above form the A. The order of these sections is reversed and extended when A returns at the end. The bulk of the movement is development of sections 3 and 4 during the B section. This B section builds in intensity through increased dynamics and tempo. It is as if the lonely person is becoming full of regret at what might have been. The intensity is finally spent when the music transitions back to the A section.

Your comments are always appreciated.

Dr. B

Emoticons Movement I

My latest composition is a three-movement composition for tuba/euphonium quartet called Emoticons. It is being composed as a result of a commissioning consortium consisting of the Tarnished Brass - Rowlett, TX, the University of North Carolina - Greensboro, NC, the Triangle Tuba Quartet - Durham, NC, the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, TN, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - Chattanooga, TN, and Kansas State University - Manhattan, KS. More groups are welcome to the join the consortium as the deadline for expressing interest has been extended until June 30, 2015. For more information, please visit http://www.cooppress.net

During the writing of this composition, I was saddened to learn of the untimely and tragic  passing of one of the participants, Kelly G. Thomas, tuba professor at the the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Therefore this composition is dedicated to the consortium and is written in memory of Kelly G. Thomas.

The idea behind Emoticons is to symbolically represent emotions. The first movement was to be Jealousy, but once the movement was completed, Bravura seemed to fit it better. What was to be a movement where each instrument tried to outdo the others turned into a dazzling display of self-confidence. The movement opens with a statement of self-confidence by the entire quartet that is interrupted by tubas then the euphoniums each showing their strength. The section at measure 23 has each of the euphoniums playing "bravura" lines over a staccato tuba accompaniment. The section at 35 reverses the roles and the two tuba parts are in canon. A dotted eighth and sixteenth note pyramid figure is introduced at measure 31 and becomes an important part of the movement. It is as if each instrument was saying "here I am." The movement continues to develop using these ideas and variations of these ideas and somewhat resembles an arch form.

Your comments are always appreciated.

Dr. B