Pastimes, Op. 56 Brass Quintet - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1481797

This three-movement composition began in 2006 with unused material from my “Concerto for Trumpet.” The opening notes of the quintet’s third movement were originally intended to open Movement I (entitled “Fe,” or “Faith”) of the concerto. With too boisterous of a mood, however, the music gave the effect of a game show theme rather than a deeply religious metaphor. The beginning several measures were filed away, re-orchestrated for brass quintet under the title “Cosmology.” In this state it awaited its completion until the concerto was finished.

Geology is a fulfilling pastime. I recently purchased a well-written Geology book with many full-color photographs. That book has inspired hours of one-on-one time between me and my children, as well as some short Geological hikes in the foothills of Ahwatukee (southern Phoenix). Some people may not match the jovial music to the serious field of geology, but for me and my children, this subject is nothing but fun and educational memory-making. The musical opening marks the beginning of one of our geological expeditions. The three major classifications of rocks are variously represented in the music, with “sedimentary” imitation, counterpoint, and pyramids; harmonically and melodically “metamorphic” passages; and violent, angry “igneous” sections.

The beauty and sentimentality of the second movement are well expressed in the title “The Wu Li Dance,” parodying a book’s title, “The Dancing Wu Li Masters” by Gary Zukav. This book is the major source of what I know about Quantum Mechanics. “Wu Li” is the Chinese term for Physics, and is literally translated as “patterns of organic energy.” Chinese masters of a discipline do not “teach” the subject to their students; rather, they lead the students to discovery and to further questions—an approach akin to dancing. The use of all conical instruments (flugelhorns rather than trumpets, and euphonium rather than trombone) augments the otherworldly affect, and provides a pleasing contrast to the outer movements to symbolize the perplexing novelty of what the human race is processing through exploring the “new physics.” Although physicists focus on chance as being a major aspect of Quantum Mechanics, I chose a non-Cage approach to aurally depict the beauty that I see in the science’s currently unexplainable contradictions.

Cosmology, or the study of the cosmos, is indeed one of my favorite pastimes. I collect photographs of galaxies, planetary nebulae, human space exploration, planets, comets, moons, and everything else extraterrestrial. The movement opens with musical pictures of our life-giving, average-sized, middle-aged, yellow star that we call “Sun,” and continues with my aural “view” of the planets and their moons, replete with sliding Doppler-esque motifs that I associate with orbits. An exciting groove set up by the first trumpet (m. 93) is my celebration of mankind in space. It quickly yields, however, to the uncertainties involved with the technological feat. Twice in this section there are very loud key moments: sinister chords that scream my reaction to the dangers manifested by Apollo 13 and lives lost in Space Shuttle disasters. A photo of an astronaut hovering precariously over the earth inspired one of the sinister moments. Despite these risks, I am grateful that the space program elegantly persists, dancing as technology advances and as time permits. A motivic collage marks the movement’s final section. It ends with a return of space exploration’s groove, as if coming home to a beautiful terrestrial sunset.