Kammersinfonietta (2020)
2 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba, 2 violins, viola, cello
2 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba, 2 violins, viola, cello
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Duration
13 minutes
Performance Note This piece may alternatively be performed with string orchestra or string quintet instead of string quartet. All parts have been written such that one player or an entire section may read them. The Vc. and Cb. parts are often presented on the same staff, given their significant similarity, but the Vc. part remains unchanged, regardless of the presence of Cb. Score & Parts (digital download): $35.00
Score Only (digital download): $15.00 Score & Parts (hard copy): $80.00 + shipping Score Only (hard copy): $35.00 + shipping |
click image for score sample
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Program Note
In the fall of 2019, during my junior year at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Tom Verrier approached me with the idea of writing a nonet for brass quintet and string quartet. An unorthodox ensemble to be sure, Dr. Verrier explained he would be taking a student brass quintet and student string quartet to the Vanderbilt Music Akademie in Berlin, Germany, in May 2020, and wanted a piece both groups could play together at their final concert.
Of course, the obvious issue that needed to be addressed was balance. In the course of this thirteen-minute work, I set myself the fun challenge of devising ways to dramatically (and idiomatically) exploit the instruments’ differences. For example, I constantly mix instruments from both groups in small subsets to pit against one another; rarely do all nine play at once. Occasionally, all four voices of the string quartet will join forces against the brass and play in unison, but never do all nine instruments play the same material at the same time. (In the spirit of greater instrumental variety and opportunity, I later added indications in the score so that the piece could alternatively be performed with string orchestra/quintet instead of string quartet.)
Since the piece was written with a German premiere in mind, I thought it would be apropos to give it a German title. The piece is a short chamber symphony, or in German, kleine Kammersymphonie, but in the spirit of efficiency, I condensed kleine and symphonie into the Italian sinfonietta (a short symphony), and Kammersinfonietta was born. (Most of the markings in the score are in Italian, so the bilingual title can be excused!) The movement titles, too, are in German: I. Fanfare und Einleitung (Fanfare and Introduction), II. Liebeslied (Love Song), III. Menuett und Trio (Minuet and Trio), and IV. Rondo der Variationen (Rondo of Variations).
The first movement begins with a lively call to action (the Fanfare), which settles into a calm chorale (the Introduction). The two seemingly unrelated halves are actually intimately connected: the Introduction simply presents each phrase of the Fanfare’s melody backwards (and at a slower tempo). At the end of the first movement, the solo tuba is left alone with the string quartet, which is exactly how the next movement begins and ends. After the yearning, serenading, melancholic love song of this second movement, a quirky dance appears. Typically, a minuet would be in steady 3/4 time, but this minuet speeds and slows in and out of 5/8, 2/4, and 3/4 to keep everyone on their toes. The third movement’s middle section, the Trio, is a pun: only three instruments play at any given time for the first page and a half. Eventually, the rest join in, waltzing off in a new direction before returning to an obnoxious restatement of the minuet. The final movement spoofs the idea of a rondo, which traditionally features a recurring section, “A,” interspersed with new sections to form “ABACA.” But, this is a rondo of variations, so the contrasting sections (“B” and “C”) are only variations of the “A,” not entirely new material. The “A” section isn’t the only repeat visitor, though: the Fanfare from the first movement reappears, taking the reins and rounding the piece off just as it began.
I am especially thankful for Dr. Verrier’s commitment to bringing this piece to life. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic rendered the envisioned 2020 German premiere impossible, Dr. Verrier enlisted his esteemed faculty colleagues in the Blair Brass Quintet and Blair String Quartet to benevolently champion the premiere in 2022, demonstrating a faith in my music for which I am very grateful.
—Jacob Beranek
In the fall of 2019, during my junior year at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Tom Verrier approached me with the idea of writing a nonet for brass quintet and string quartet. An unorthodox ensemble to be sure, Dr. Verrier explained he would be taking a student brass quintet and student string quartet to the Vanderbilt Music Akademie in Berlin, Germany, in May 2020, and wanted a piece both groups could play together at their final concert.
Of course, the obvious issue that needed to be addressed was balance. In the course of this thirteen-minute work, I set myself the fun challenge of devising ways to dramatically (and idiomatically) exploit the instruments’ differences. For example, I constantly mix instruments from both groups in small subsets to pit against one another; rarely do all nine play at once. Occasionally, all four voices of the string quartet will join forces against the brass and play in unison, but never do all nine instruments play the same material at the same time. (In the spirit of greater instrumental variety and opportunity, I later added indications in the score so that the piece could alternatively be performed with string orchestra/quintet instead of string quartet.)
Since the piece was written with a German premiere in mind, I thought it would be apropos to give it a German title. The piece is a short chamber symphony, or in German, kleine Kammersymphonie, but in the spirit of efficiency, I condensed kleine and symphonie into the Italian sinfonietta (a short symphony), and Kammersinfonietta was born. (Most of the markings in the score are in Italian, so the bilingual title can be excused!) The movement titles, too, are in German: I. Fanfare und Einleitung (Fanfare and Introduction), II. Liebeslied (Love Song), III. Menuett und Trio (Minuet and Trio), and IV. Rondo der Variationen (Rondo of Variations).
The first movement begins with a lively call to action (the Fanfare), which settles into a calm chorale (the Introduction). The two seemingly unrelated halves are actually intimately connected: the Introduction simply presents each phrase of the Fanfare’s melody backwards (and at a slower tempo). At the end of the first movement, the solo tuba is left alone with the string quartet, which is exactly how the next movement begins and ends. After the yearning, serenading, melancholic love song of this second movement, a quirky dance appears. Typically, a minuet would be in steady 3/4 time, but this minuet speeds and slows in and out of 5/8, 2/4, and 3/4 to keep everyone on their toes. The third movement’s middle section, the Trio, is a pun: only three instruments play at any given time for the first page and a half. Eventually, the rest join in, waltzing off in a new direction before returning to an obnoxious restatement of the minuet. The final movement spoofs the idea of a rondo, which traditionally features a recurring section, “A,” interspersed with new sections to form “ABACA.” But, this is a rondo of variations, so the contrasting sections (“B” and “C”) are only variations of the “A,” not entirely new material. The “A” section isn’t the only repeat visitor, though: the Fanfare from the first movement reappears, taking the reins and rounding the piece off just as it began.
I am especially thankful for Dr. Verrier’s commitment to bringing this piece to life. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic rendered the envisioned 2020 German premiere impossible, Dr. Verrier enlisted his esteemed faculty colleagues in the Blair Brass Quintet and Blair String Quartet to benevolently champion the premiere in 2022, demonstrating a faith in my music for which I am very grateful.
—Jacob Beranek
