Quintet for Brass No. 1

A three-movement work composed in 1975 and revised in 2014. The ScoreFlipper recording features Jack Gale on trombone, his brother David Gale on trumpet, and others.

Basically a short symphony for brass in sonata form.  Modern but not dissonant.  Fairly difficult.

Performance Notes

The first movement should begin with a bright, energetic attack. Through bar 18, the eighth note remains the same. After the ritard at bars 19 and 20, the tempo at bar 21 is double that of the opening and is taken in one beat to the bar. The relationship is such that every two bars at 21 are the same as one bar of the 6/8 at 10 or 17. On the D.C. the eighth notes are equal to the sixteenths at bar 1. The clarity of bars 81 through 95 will be improved if all players accent the first beat of each measure.

The second movement should be played as warmly and smoothly as possible.

The third movement is in cut time throughout. The tempo should permit firmness in the eighth-note passages. Bars 56 through 59 should not be allowed to slow down and if any loss of tempo has occurred up to that point, the Tuba should push those bars in order to restore the proper tempo by bar 60. The Fugue at bar 115 can be played with or without the doubled voices cued into the parts, depending on any problems of endurance.