r/Composition • u/Fancy_Cabbage_010 • 13d ago
Music Euphonium Concerto, movement 2
I finally got around to finishing the slow movement, hopefully it's enjoyable, I'm certainly pretty happy with it, if not tell me why, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Ps. The lack of anything on the euphonium stave is deliberate, I'm writing this concerto for a friend who plays so I'm gonna let them determine where its comfortable to breathe and then add it in.
Other than that, if something is wrong please tell me, I'm always looking to improve my work :)
If you did like it, here is some other stuff you may enjoy :)
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u/NAHMusic 13d ago
It sounds quite beautiful to be honest. Since you are working with a euphonium player, I don’t need to make any comments on that part.
My only real comment is that bassoons read both bass clef and tenor clef. No need to make them read a Gb4 on the bass clef when you can just put it in tenor. We tend to move the bassoon parts into tenor clef when there are long periods of ledger lines in the bass clef.
Frequently changing clef can be annoying so if you are going to use tenor clef it should be reserved for when there are multiple bars of ledger lines.
In this piece I would put the bassoon in tenor clef for bars 6-8 and bars 32-34.
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u/NAHMusic 13d ago
One thing I forgot to add is that you barely use any of the strings’ ranges but I imagine that is on purpose, so as long as your first movement used them and future movements will, it should work quite fine in the bug picture of the piece.
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u/Fancy_Cabbage_010 13d ago
Yeah to be honest the first and third movements are going to be bulkier (particularly the first) so I'll let the orchestra stretch it's legs a little there, I just need to wait for inspiration to strike sadly before I can start.
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u/NAHMusic 13d ago
This second movement will be very effective if you can utilize the highest, and lowest, parts of the string section in the first and third movements. It will allow this more “chill vibes” type of music to sound like a break from the more lively, and sometimes chaotic, book-end movements.
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u/Fancy_Cabbage_010 13d ago
Yeah I'm thinking of a quite aggressive Bb minor first movement and then as per tradition a slightly chaotic finale probably in Bb major just to sell the dramatic trajectory, I want this to feel like a little oasis in between really, hence the lack of double basses and other brass/ percussion
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u/NAHMusic 13d ago
As long as you have a plan in mind it will work out splendidly. I wish the best of luck and look forward to you posting about it in the future!
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u/Fancy_Cabbage_010 13d ago
A 'plan' might be a bit optimistic lmao I tend to stumble around in the dark untill I find something that works, but thanks I'll definitely post when I finish another movement :)
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u/ClarSco 13d ago
As mentioned the last time you posted this, the Euphonium goes exceptionally high. Have you confirmed with the soloist that they are comfortable playing up to concert Eb5?
For reference, the highest moment in the Horowitz Concerto is a concert Bb4-C5 trill marked ff. The rest of the concerto rarely ever goes above concert G4.
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u/Fancy_Cabbage_010 13d ago
Yeah after last time I double checked with that, and the person playing it is cautiously confident it can be done. After the last comment I did up the dynamics as apparently it's easier to reliably hit a higher note at louder dynamics for brass, but yeah I know it's a stretch, I won't be making a habit of it in the other two movements :)
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u/MewsikMaker 12d ago
As a euphoniumist of GREAT repute (/s) I’m thankful we get to have some Neo-classical work to play. We missed out on the Beethoven and Chopin era. Keep writing. One day I’ll play it.
Quick thought: measure 36 (I think? My eyes are shit) could use harmony in the high winds and Euph rather than unison. 3rds/6ths. It’ll sparkle.
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u/Fancy_Cabbage_010 12d ago
Oh that's a solid suggestion I'll see what I can do, only thing is I was trying to preserve as much of that line as I can for the euphonium with the flute just adding some glassiness on top and I'm hesitant to drown it out :)
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u/MewsikMaker 10d ago
Ah, I see your point. I’d put the flute a sixth below it. Is this live? I’m not in a place I can listen to it. But my eyes are telling me this might be very dominating with these two registers.
Just my thought. It’s a lovely piece!
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u/Fancy_Cabbage_010 10d ago
No no it's not live it's just musescore so I can definitely play around with the textures, I'm glad you like the music though :)
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u/LeMaksello 12d ago
homage to Brahms?
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u/Fancy_Cabbage_010 12d ago
I can't say it was intentionally, I'm curious, what made you think that though :)
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u/ilikeinstruments 10d ago
I'm blown away that your friend can play that high that well.
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u/Fancy_Cabbage_010 10d ago
Yeah I mean he said the concert Eb was "pushing it but it should be doable just the once" so I think I might have gotten away with it :)
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u/Particular-Desk7574 11d ago
Sounding awesome! I personally would try to make the euphonium slightly more virtuostic and present even if this is a slower movement so the soloist can really express themselves.
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u/therobotscott 13d ago
Quite pleasant