josephus07

Has anyone played this? I have to play principal on it for school and...it's a screamer, and I'm not a screamer - although, I'm able to play all of the notes except for 1 (the concert F, asked for on an Eb).

That's exciting, because I used to not be able to handle stuff like this.

Anyway, parts of the 1st part are kind of Rite of Spring-ish.

It's a cool piece.

KMT

Yes, I've played it a couple of times, once on first, and once on flugel. It is one of the few wind ensemble pieces that I like.

josephus07

Any tips/suggestions for the 1st part - did you play it all on C except for the part for Eb?

cornetguy

I played one of the lower parts several years ago. The person on the first part played the whole thing on Eb.

This is a really cool piece.

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Per aspera ad astra

KMT

When I played first I was an undergrad in college and pretty cocky. I think I played the entire thing on C. If I were to play it again, I would definitely use a smaller horn.

Jimi Michiel

We did it in undergrad. I didn't play on it, but I remember the guy who did used an E-falt. Have fun!

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Sotto Voce

Tonight is an ASU Wind Symphony concert in Gammage auditorium at 7:30. I am playing the principal part on this piece and, so far, it has been pretty straight ahead (for this piece!). I have been playing it all on C, and it seems to be reasonably manageable.
I'll let you know if there are any major pitfalls to watch out for later!

All the best,
Eric

josephus07

Howd'd your concert go?

Sotto Voce

Sorry, been busy all day.

The concert went very well, actually! The entire section played better than in any of our rehearsals. The 5th and 6th trumpet parts also require cornets for certain sections and those guys sounded professional (some really cool Mariachi style moments). As far as my part:
We used the Sotto Voce mute for the "whisper mute" sections, it's a good mute for that.
There is a string of high C's around the section marked "It grabs his throat" that had been giving me some trouble, but fortunately the second player and I both got through it.
Half way down the pentultimate page is a high D (on C trumpet) that was not as full as I would have liked, but reasonably resonant
Of course, the final measures of sustained top-of-the-staff F are a blow, but the Sotto Voce made it manageable

Again, as far as that written F above high C, don't sweat it. It is supposed to be a short, high, "breathy" pitch. If you get F, great, if not, no big deal.

Oh yeah, the clarinets and I got together and decided we would add a decrescendo in the 7/8 bars with the repeated notes in "Carlos clowns for Juan." Each one got softer until it was almost ridiculously soft, but it really pulled off the moment.

Good luck and pm me or post with any other questions.
-Eric Baker