Possibilities (4/11/25)
Bassquake II (2021) - Tom Davoren (b. 1986) 3’
My Mountain Top (1998/2012) - Andy Scott (b. 1966) 8’30”
Toro (2015) - Justina Repečkaitė (b. 1989) 6’
Vairo Boulevard (2023) - Chanell Crichlow (b. 1986) 7’
Georgian Song (1863) - Mily Balakirev (1837-1910) ed. Rolf T. Smedvig 4’
Nocturno Op. 7 (1864) - Franz Strauss (1822-1905) 6’30”
花 (2020) - Japanese Traditional arr. Anthony Caillet 3’
Bassquake II (2021) - Tom Davoren (b. 1986) 3’
“Bassquake II is a short, adrenaline fuelled work for solo euphonium, composed for my friend Glenn Van Looy. It was a gift, intended as a joke at first, to be a study that he would not be able to play! He however loved rhythmic hooks, tumbling tonality, and multi-phonics, so this final version of the pieces was brought to life.”
My Mountain Top (1998/2012) - Andy Scott (b. 1966) 8’30”
“'My Mountain Top' is one of Andy's most performed and recorded works. Commissioned by the ISCM World Music Days & originally written for the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, with words and narration by Lemn Sissay, My Mountain Top has subsequently been arranged by the composer for a number of solo instruments including saxophone, tuba, alto flute, & tenor horn.
'My Mountain Top' commences with a crackle on the accompanying CD, representing lying under the gaze of the sun and feeling the heat on your skin. The rhythmically free opening euphonium statements represent a mind that is active with thoughts but which gradually floats into a semi-conscious state. At this point the warm keyboard pads emerge and the stage is set for Lemn's magical words. The solo euphonium part weaves its way around the voice, gesturing and supporting, but never overpowering.”
Toro (2015) - Justina Repečkaitė (b. 1989) 6’
“Dedicated to and performed by Vianney Desplantes.
Unusual expression of euphonium fulfils the need of an animalistic sounding. Electronics part is created from the pre-recorded euphonium and vocal sounds treated with audio effects. In order to create a sacrificial dance atmosphere euphonium and electronics interfere with each other as two fighting creatures changing the balance of dominance."
Toro is the winner of the Duo Signal‘s Call for Scores 21.”
Vairo Boulevard (2023) - Chanell Crichlow (b. 1986) 7’
“Vairo Boulevard was commissioned by Gretchen Renshaw James, my college roommate and tuba studio mate at Penn State University. The piece begins as a snapshot of Gretchen and I talking on our balcony as the sun sets and pays tribute to the stages of coming out and finding yourself. At first, the piece is introspective and self-searching, followed by pride and confidence in who you are; we then navigate through the excitement and complexity of queer relationships and finally gather at a place that feels self-assured and hopeful for the future. Vairo Boulevard explores sounds and genres created by or heavily influenced by queer Black folks. For many, this music (the club) is where they met their first love. This music saves lives, comforts folks in times of joy and pain, and serves as a gathering space for the community.”
Georgian Song (1863) - Mily Balakirev (1837-1910) ed. Rolf T. Smedvig 4’
“Mily Balakirev was a Russian composer and a driving force behind the nationalist movement in Russian music. By the 1860s, Balakirev had become a key mentor to composers like César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, and Aleksandr Borodin, forming the influential group known as The Five. His compositions, including Islamey, Tamara, and his Overture on Russian Themes, reflected his deep interest in Russian folk music. He also promoted Mikhail Glinka’s works and conducted the Russian Music Society’s symphony concerts.
Despite his influence, Balakirev’s authoritarian nature alienated many, leading to his withdrawal from music between 1872 and 1876, during which he worked as a railway clerk and experienced a deep personal crisis. He later returned, directing the Free School of Music and the imperial chapel while completing works such as Symphony No. 2 (1908) and his Piano Sonata (1905). Though he shaped the direction of Russian orchestral music and mentored major composers, his own creative style remained rooted in his early years, and his later works lacked the innovation of his youth. Nevertheless, his colorful and imaginative compositions solidified his legacy as a key figure in 19th-century Russian music.”
Georgian Song is a Russian Lied for tenor and orchestra with text by Aleksandr Pushkin. The words are as follows:
Не пой, красавица, при мне
Ты песен Грузии печальной;
Напоминают мне оне
Другую жизнь и берег дальний.
Увы, напоминают мне
Твои жестокие напевы
И степь, и ночь, и при луне
Черты далекой, бедной девы!
Я [призрак]1 милый, роковой,
Тебя увидев, забываю;
Но ты поёшь, и предо мной
Его я вновь воображаю.
Не пой, красавица, при мне
Ты песен Грузии печальной;
Напоминают мне оне
Другую жизнь и берег дальний.
Do not sing, my beauty, to me
your sad songs of Georgia;
they remind me
of that other life and distant shore.
Alas, They remind me,
your cruel melodies,
of the steppe, the night and moonlit
features of a poor, distant maiden!
That sweet and fateful apparition
I forget when you appear;
but you sing, and before me
I picture that image anew.
Do not sing, my beauty, to me
your sad songs of Georgia;
they remind me
of that other life and distant shore.
Nocturno Op. 7 (1864) - Franz Strauss (1822-1905) 6’30”
From Margaret McGillivray, DMA: “The famous 19th-century conductor, Hans von Bülow, once said about Franz Strauss: “The fellow is intolerable, but when he blows his horn you can’t be angry with him.” Strauss’ position in music history is well-assured: not only was he Richard Strauss’ father and primary musical influence, but he was the premier horn player of his generation and Richard Wagner’s solo hornist. Despite the musically-inventive times in which
he lived and worked, the elder Strauss was a musical conservative. Strauss thought he belonged more to the era of Haydn and Mozart than the expansiveness of Wagner or the heightened emotions of Mahler. Nevertheless, he was famous for playing fabulously well, regardless of how he felt about the composer or composition. In the Nocturne, Strauss shows us his ideal musical world. There is a gorgeous, singable melody, a refined piano accompaniment, clear three-part ternary form and satisfying cadences. Horn players since then have agreed with him, possibly even thanking Papa Strauss for giving us our very own masterpiece in the Romantic German lieder tradition.”
花 (2020) - Japanese Traditional arr. Anthony Caillet 3’
Hana is a traditional Japanese folk song that translates to flower or blossom, but can refer to cherry blossoms. This is different from Sakura, which translates directly to cherry blossom and is the title of a different well-known Japanese folk song. The words for Hana are as follows:
春のうららの 隅田川、
のぼりくだりの 船人が
櫂（かひ）のしづくも 花と散る
ながめを何に たとふべき
見ずやあけぼの 露浴びて
われにもの言ふ 桜木を
見ずや夕ぐれ 手をのべて
われさしまねく 青柳（あおやぎ）を
錦おりなす 長堤（ちょうてい）に
くるればのぼる おぼろ月
げに一刻も 千金の
ながめを何に たとふべき
How happy, spring has come over the Sumida,
Rowing up, rowing down in the warm sunbeams,
Drops from the boatmen's oars look like cherry blooms,
How can I describe for you the view o'er the streams?
Lo, see the cherry trees that stand in the morning mist,
I hear them speak to me in a tender tone,
In the eve I love to see the waving willows,
They stretch their hands to me strolling alone.
Oh, see the hazy moon rising o'er the banks,
Rows of cherry trees standing o'er the stream,
How I love the cherry blossoms in the moonlight!
How can I describe for you the night like in a dream?
This arrangement by Anthony Caillet opens with a multiphonic exploration of the harmony before performing the melody twice across 3 octaves, serving as both melody and accompaniment. After a brief B phrase, the entire melody repeats again, this time with added ornamentation and some variation in pitch before ending softly and sweetly.