The Man Watching for Brass Trio by Elizabeth Raum Brass Trio - Digital Sheet Music

The Man Watching

The title, The Man Watching, comes from the Rainer Maria Rilke poem of the same name. The poem opens with the words, “I can tell by the way the trees beat, after so many dull days, on my worried windowpanes that a storm is coming.” I began the movement with the sound of the trees beating on the window pane represented by the triplet figure in the trumpet, and continued with the triplet as development material. The movement alternates between ferocity as the storm approaches and melancholy as the Man realizes he is overwhelmed.The second movement, Winning with Small Things is taken from the line in the poem, “When we win, it’s with small things...” My interpretation is that mankind, when viewed in the context of the universe and time, is small and the idea that a person could alter the immensity of the universe and time is impossible and actually not beneficial. The overall feeling starts out with an acceptance but it moves into material from the first movement signifying the reluctance to give up the great gesture. However, it returns to acceptance only this time, it’s more a major feel so the Man Watching is more content.The third movement, The Angel, is about a battle, of sorts, with the Angel. It’s somewhat tongue in cheek since a battle with an Angel is bound to end badly for the other guy, so the light hearted battle fanfares alternate with ecclesiastical type of music. It is all optimistic. It was inspired by the line from the poem, Winning does not tempt that man. This is how he grows... and in this case, the music grows combining the two sentiments until they become one. There are motives from the first and second movements indicating that the lessons of the past are still within the Man Watching.