UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
Date:______
I, ______, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in:
It is entitled:
This work and its defense approved by:
Chair: ______
A Comparative Analysis of Scenes, Scenes Revisited, and Last Scenes by Verne Reynolds
A document submitted to the
Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
in the Division of Ensembles and Conducting of the College-Conservatory of Music
2006
by
Brandon D. Jones
B.M., Miami University, 1998
M.M., University of Cincinnati, 2003
Committee Chair: Rodney Winther
ABSTRACT
American French hornist and composer Verne Reynolds (b. 1926) spent most of his career on the faculty at the Eastman School of Music as Professor of Horn. During his thirty-six year tenure there (1959–1995) he was a founding member of the Eastman Brass Quintet as well as their chief arranger. Reynolds also held positions in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the
American Woodwind Quintet, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to his teaching and arranging duties, Reynolds is a prolific composer. His oeuvre spans nearly every genre, including solo, chamber and pedagogical works as well as compositions for orchestra and wind ensemble.
In the 1970s, Reynolds composed three works for wind ensemble entitled Scenes, Scenes
Revisited, and Last Scenes. In these works he utilized various techniques and influences that include serialism, jazz, and aleatory along with more traditional compositional methods such as variation, imitation, and development of motivic ideas. This study examines each of these three works individually in terms of their use of serialism, orchestration, jazz influence, aleatory, and form. A descriptive analysis is then presented for each work, which seeks to aid in study of the scores. These elements are then compared to demonstrate the relationships among all three works. Also included is an appendix listing all of Reynolds’s compositions and transcriptions for wind and percussion instruments, which total over one hundred.
ii COPYRIGHT NOTICES AND PERMISSIONS
SCENES By Verne Reynolds Copyright © 1974 (Renewed) by G. Schirmer, Inc. (ASCAP) International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
SCENES REVISITED By Verne Reynolds © Copyright 2004 by Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.
LAST SCENES By Verne Reynolds Copyright © 1979 by Verne Reynolds Used by Permission.
iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my appreciation to my advisor, coach, and teacher Mr. Rodney
Winther for his unending patience and thoughtful guidance throughout my studies at CCM.
Thank you also Dr. Terence Milligan and Dr. David Berry for their input on my document. I
would also like to thank Mr. Gary Speck for first introducing me to these pieces and sparking the
idea for this project. Sincere thanks to my wife Stephanie for her constant support of my career
pursuits.
This work is dedicated to Verne Reynolds, whose talent for performing, teaching, and composing has enriched the lives of countless students and audiences, and whose unique and significant contribution to the wind repertoire deserves great recognition.
iv CONTENTS
LIST OF EXAMPLES...... 3
Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION
Biography of Verne Reynolds ...... 5
Purpose and Method of this Study...... 7
2. SCENES
Overview...... 8
Pitch Analysis ...... 10
Stylistic Elements...... 13
Descriptive Analysis ...... 17
3. SCENES REVISITED
Overview...... 31
Pitch Analysis ...... 32
Stylistic Elements...... 37
Descriptive Analysis ...... 45
4. LAST SCENES
Overview...... 58
Pitch Analysis ...... 59
Stylistic Elements...... 62
Descriptive Analysis ...... 64
5. COMPARISON OF THE THREE WORKS
Instrumentation ...... 74
Formal Characteristics ...... 75
1 Use of Serialism...... 76
Stylistic Elements...... 81
Conclusion ...... 82
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 84
APPENDIX A: Scenes Trilogy Instrumentation ...... 87
APPENDIX B: Verne Reynolds’s Compositions and Transcriptions for Wind and Percussion Instruments...... 88
2 LIST OF EXAMPLES
Example
1. Reynolds, Scenes, P0 row ...... 10
2. Reynolds, Scenes, transpositions of P0 row in aleatoric section ...... 10
3. Reynolds, Scenes, Scene Five English horn row ...... 10
4. Reynolds, Scenes, Scene Six row ...... 11
5. Reynolds, Scenes, Manipulation of Scene Six row...... 11
6. Reynolds, Scenes tonal scheme...... 12
7. Reynolds, Scenes trumpet soli sections ...... 14
8. Reynolds, Scenes, Scene Two flute and clarinet solos ...... 15
9. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, P3 row ...... 33
10. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, P3 row manipulation ...... 33
11. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, P0 row ...... 33
12. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, P0 row manipulation ...... 34
13. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, clarinet and saxophone row...... 34
14. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, mm. 45–48; clarinets and soprano saxophone ...... 34
15. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, P10 row ...... 35
16. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, P10 row manipulation ...... 35
17. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited tonal scheme...... 35
18. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, mm. 55–58; clarinets and saxophones...... 37
19. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, mm. 219–23; clarinets...... 39
20. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, mm. 257–60; trumpets...... 39
21. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, mm. 268–71; French horns...... 40
3 22. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, mm. 296–303; French horns...... 40
23. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, m. 304; French horns 1–3...... 41
24. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, mm. 304–8, m. 312; trombones...... 41
25. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, mm. 312–16; woodwinds ...... 42
26. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, m. 320; saxophones, euphonium and tuba ...... 43
27. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, opening chord reduction...... 45
28. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, mm. 170–99 chord reductions...... 51
29. Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, Scene Four melodic reduction...... 52
30. Reynolds, Last Scenes, P10 row ...... 60
31. Reynolds, Last Scenes, mm. 142–45; flutes, oboes, clarinets...... 62
32. Reynolds, Last Scenes; solo horn...... 65
33. Reynolds, Last Scenes, mm.28–33; solo horn ...... 65
34. Reynolds, Last Scenes, mm. 33–39; English horn...... 65
35. Reynolds, Last Scenes, mm. 48–51 reduction ...... 66
36. Reynolds, Last Scenes, mm. 93–99; solo horn and xylophone...... 69
37. Reynolds, Last Scenes, mm. 106–9; solo horn and percussion ...... 69
38. Reynolds, Last Scenes, mm.121–28; solo horn and percussion ...... 70
39. Scenes trilogy rows and interval vectors...... 79
4 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Biography of Verne Reynolds
Verne Reynolds was born in 1926 in Lyons, Kansas. He began studying piano at the age
of eight with Arvid Wallin, a professor at Bethany College in Lindsborg where Reynolds and his
family had moved when he was young. He continued the study of piano throughout his school years as well as sang in a church choir conducted by Wallin.1 At the age of thirteen he began
playing horn under the instruction of his high school band director. After leaving high school
Reynolds joined the Navy, where he was primarily a pianist in a dance band, but also played in a
military band.2
Upon leaving the Navy Reynolds attended the Cincinnati Conservatory beginning in
1946, studying horn with Gustav Albrecht. In that year Albrecht was retiring from the Cincinnati
Symphony and prepared Reynolds for an audition with the orchestra. He won the job and at age
twenty, Reynolds states, “That pretty much decided it. I was studying piano, but at that point I
switched over to a composition major.”3 He graduated with the Bachelor of Music Degree in
composition in 1950 and played horn in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from 1947–50. In
1951 Reynolds graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a Master of Music Degree in
1 Michael Laurence Lowe, “A Conversation with Verne Reynolds,” Horn Call 21 (Oct. 1990): 27.
2 Ibid., 29.
3 Ibid.
5 composition where he was a student of Cecil Burleigh.4 In 1953–54 he attended the Royal
College of Music in London as a Fulbright Scholar, enrolling in a class taught by Frank Probyn.5
Reynolds served on the faculties of the University of Wisconsin from1950–53 and Indiana
University from1954–59. He was also a member of the American Woodwind Quintet during his
tenure at the latter institution. In 1959 he joined the faculty of the Eastman School of Music as
Professor of Horn. Reynolds continued performing as a founding member and chief arranger of
the Eastman Brass Quintet in 1961 and as principal horn of the Rochester Philharmonic
Orchestra from 1959–68. He retired from the Eastman School in 1995 after a distinguished
teaching career that saw many of his students hold positions in major orchestras around the
world.6 Reynolds’s compositions span nearly every genre, including solo, chamber and
pedagogical works as well as compositions for orchestras and wind ensembles. He also has
completed a number of transcriptions for winds as well as strings, both published and
unpublished. His compositions for wind ensemble include the Scenes trilogy, Concerto for Band
(1980), Concerto for Piano and Wind Ensemble (1996), and Fragments and Episodes (2004). He also has a number of transcriptions for both large wind ensemble and chamber ensembles, including Massenet’s Ballet Music from ‘Le Cid’ and Schubert’s Little Symphony.
4 Nicolas Slonimsky, ed., Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 8th ed. (New York: Schirmer Books, 1992), 1503.
5 Lowe, 29.
6 Ibid., 27.
6 Purpose and Method of this Study
Verne Reynolds utilized various compositional techniques in Scenes, Scenes Revisited,
and Last Scenes including serialism, jazz-like improvisatory sections inspired by Dizzy
Gillespie’s “atonal jazz,” what he calls slow “scorched earth” music, as well as more traditional
techniques such as variation, imitation and development of motivic ideas.7 Each chapter will
begin by giving an overview of each work detailing the circumstances of the commission, listing
the instrumentation, and providing a formal outline. Then each work’s pitch content will be
discussed by examining instances of 12-tone rows and their manipulations to demonstrate their roles in each work. Pitch centricity is examined to describe how Reynolds used more traditional tonal methods to create cohesion throughout the works. The various stylistic elements of each work is explored, including improvisatory sections, aleatory, and orchestration. The final section for each piece is a descriptive analysis that serves to aid in study of the score. The final chapter is a comparison of all three works in relation to the aspects mentioned above.
7 Verne Reynolds, Scenes Revisited (New York: Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., 2004), ii.
7 CHAPTER 2
SCENES
Overview
Composition Circumstances
Verne Reynolds composed Scenes for Donald Hunsberger and the Eastman Wind
Ensemble for their twentieth anniversary in 1971.8 The work was not a commission by the ensemble, but rather brought to Hunsberger by Reynolds. Hunsberger’s first impression of the work was that it was at the same level of difficulty as the works Reynolds had written for the professional musicians in the Eastman Brass Quintet. Since there was no commission, the instrumentation, length, and difficulty was not specified by anyone but came naturally out of what Reynolds had composed. Hunsberger eventually programmed the piece on tour to Japan in
1978, and thought the work “[took] the ensemble to yet another level.”9
8 Gary A. Speck, “Scenes, Verne Reynolds (b. 1926),” in Teaching Music Through Performance in Band, vol. 3, comp. and ed. Richard Miles (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc., 2000), 731.
9 Donald Hunsberger, interview by author, compact disc recording, Cincinnati, Ohio, 26 April 2006.
8 Instrumentation
The instrumentation of Scenes is an expanded orchestral wind section with percussion, piano and celesta.
4 Flutes (3rd and 4th double piccolo) 4 Percussion: Snare drum 4 Oboes (4th doubles English horn) Tenor drum 3 B-flat clarinets Bass drum 3 Bassoons Cymbals 4 B-flat Trumpets Tam-tam 5 French horns Triangle 3 Trombones Bells Tuba Xylophone Piano Chimes Celesta Temple blocks Timpani Wood block Claves Bongos Total: 33 players
Form
Scene Measures Tempo Description 1 1–44 Maestoso, = 56 Tutti; complex composite rhythms
2 45–132 Allegro, = 138 Horn and trumpet soli sections; flute and clarinet solos
3 133–44 = 138, 100, 72, 60, 50 Aleatoric section: tone row repeated at six different levels
4 145–77 = 60 Trumpet soli with whispa mutes
Offstage English horn solo 5 178–207 = 60
Trumpet and horn soli sections; 6 208–400 = 168, triple meter underlying triplets
9 Pitch analysis
12 tone Rows and their manipulations
Reynolds used three distinct 12-tone rows throughout Scenes. The first row is in Scene
Three, the aleatoric section encompassing mm. 133–43. Following is the primary row, labeled
P0: {0 5 3 E 9 1 7 6 4 2 T 8}. This row is presented by the piano in mm. 136–38 in quarter notes.
Example 1: Scenes, P0 row
Five subsequent statements of this row also appear in quarter notes in various transpositions
throughout this section, with an increasingly dense aleatoric accompaniment. Each measure in
mm. 139–43 contains a statement in the scheme as follows:
Example 2: Scenes, transpositions of P0 row in aleatoric section
m. 139: Chimes – P6 m. 140: Oboes – P3 m. 141: Horns – P4 m. 142: Trombones – P1 m. 143: Trumpets – P2
The next usage of a 12-tone row occurs in the offstage English horn solo in Scene Five
(mm. 178–207). The row {1 0 5 7 3 T 8 E 6 4 2 9} is presented in its entirety in the first phrase
of the solo, mm. 178–85.
Example 3: Scenes, Scene Five English horn row
The second phrase (mm. 186–97) functions as free elaboration on the row while the third phrase
(mm. 197–207) contains the same first ten pitches as the original row, but changes at the
eleventh note, ending on D-flat to serve as a transition into Scene Six.
10 The final usage of 12-tone rows occurs in Scene Six. The row {1 T 0 6 5 2 3 E 4 9 7 8}
comprises a single line of quarter notes in the French horns in mm. 344–49.
Example 4: Scenes, Scene Six row
The use of this row, however, starts at the beginning of Scene Six and is used throughout the
entire scene in the accompaniment. Examination of the triplet motor starting in m. 208 shows
that Reynolds used all or part of the row to make up this accompaniment.
Example 5: Scenes, Manipulation of Scene Six row
Measures Pitches used 208–21 1 T 0 5 2 3 E 9 7 8 222–33 1 T 0 6 5 2 3 E 9 7 8 234–41 1 0 6 5 2 3 E 4 9 7 8 (T in trumpets) 242–51 1 T 0 6 5 2 3 E 9 7 8 252–56 1 T 0 6 5 2 3 E 9 7 8 257–64 1 T 0 6 5 2 3 E 9 7 8 265–72 1 T 0 6 5 2 3 E 9 7 8 273–78 1 T 0 6 5 2 3 E 9 7 8 279–82 1 T 0 6 5 2 3 E 9 7 8 283–90 1 T 0 6 5 2 3 E 4 9 7 8 (first complete occurrence) 291–95 1 T 0 6 5 2 3 7 8 301–6 1 T 0 6 5 2 3 E 4 9 7 8
This row is presented melodically by the clarinets in mm. 314–25 at mezzo-piano in a low
register. This is actually the presentation of the row within one voice, but its rhythmic structure
and scoring make it less bold than the horn statement mentioned above.
Pitch centricity
C-sharp functions as a central pitch with important structural implications throughout the
work.
11 Example 6: Scenes tonal scheme Section: One Two Three Four Five Six Bass pitch: C-sharp C C/C-sharp C-sharp
C-sharp begins the piece and serves as a returning pedal point throughout the first section up to
m. 14, with a V–I cadence occurring in the bass voices of m. 12. C-sharp returns to end Scene
One in m. 41 in the repetition of the opening motive and is sustained as the lowest pitch in the
horns and flutes. Scene Two begins with a C-sharp in the piano in m. 45.
Scenes Three and Four are centered on C, given its use as strong bass pitches and its
importance in the primary row form. The first row statement in Scene Three originates on C, and
a sustained timpani roll on it is heard throughout the scene. The pitch C continues as a pedal in the tuba and piano chords throughout Scene Four (mm. 144–77). In Scene Five the lowest two notes of the previous repeated chord (C, F-sharp) remain in chime rolls that last throughout the scene. The English horn row begins on C-sharp, with C fading out into the beginning of Scene
Six where C-sharp once again prevails.
The main row of Scene Six begins on C-sharp. In addition to its recurrence in this manner, it becomes an inverse pedal in the upper woodwinds in mm. 296–303, where it is then transferred to trumpets in repeated sixteenth notes. A row statement then emerges vertically through the addition of the other brass. The woodwind C-sharp inverse pedal then returns in mm.
339–47 with tuba added and timpani playing C-sharp triplets, ending with the first statement of the row by the horns. All voices begin to converge on C-sharp beginning in m. 384, after the sixth and final iteration of the horn row. There is a final V–I cadence in the bass voices in mm.
391–92 of G-sharp to C-sharp with all voices sustaining the pitch until the end.
Examining the overall scheme of Scenes shows that the work is centered on C-sharp, with
Scenes One and Two based on C-sharp, Scenes Three and Four on its leading tone C, Scene Five
12 a struggle between the two pitches, and Scene Six back on C-sharp. This overall pitch centricity provides a tonal underpinning to a largely serial and atonal work.
Stylistic elements
Improvisatory sections
Reynolds has acknowledged his use of “improvisatory sections” throughout Scenes.10
These occur in the form of jazz-inspired passages that, while they are to be played as written, sound improvisational. Two trumpet soli sections exemplify this style. The first occurs in mm.
81–96 of Scene Two and in mm. 212–43 of Scene Six. Both of these sections feature rapid chromatic passages with no obvious key center. Trumpets are also muted in both sections, in the first with cup mutes and in the second with each player using a different mute: Harmon, cup, and straight while the first trumpet plays open. The use of these mutes also alludes to jazz style.
10 Verne Reynolds, program note for Scenes, for Wind and Percussion.
13 Example 7: Scenes trumpet soli sections
mm. 81–86
mm. 237–42
Two other examples of improvisatory composition are the flute and clarinet solos in Scene Two.
They are similar in character to the aforementioned trumpet soli, with rapid sixteenth-note figurations and syncopations with no obvious key center.
14 Example 8: Scenes: Scene Two flute and clarinet solos
Flute and percussion, mm. 100–3
Clarinet and percussion, mm. 116–19
Aleatory
Aleatory is confined to Scene Three (mm. 133–43), where it encompasses the entire
section.11 It is divided into six segments, each corresponding with a statement of the P0 row or
one of its transpositions. Reynolds used aleatory in this work by writing specific passages at specified tempi, then asking them to either be repeated as written or using different pitches. For
example, the first phrase (mm. 133–38) features the woodwinds and horns at 138 beats per
11 For further discussion of the aleatoric section of this work, see Richard L. Mason, “Aspects of Aleatoric Techniques Use in Selected Wind Band Works of Karel Husa, Robert Kraft, Krystof Penderecki, Verne Reynolds and Joseph Schwantner” (DMA diss., University of Alabama, 2004).
15 minute each with different passages while the trombones are marked at 50 beats per minute
playing muted glissandi. The tempo of the row melody is always at this latter tempo, and is
always played in quarter notes. A more detailed discussion of this section will follow in the
descriptive analysis.
Orchestration
Reynolds had a strong interest in exploring the forces of the wind ensemble in this, his
first piece for the medium. He stated “the main intent of the piece is to provide ‘scenes’ or
settings in which these instruments can most effectively make use of their colors, techniques and
expressive qualities.”12 He demonstrated this in various ways, most particularly through his use
of instruments by families. He often kept groups of instruments together within their own family
or by larger groupings of woodwinds and brass. Examples of this include the Scene Two soli
sections for horns, trumpets, flutes, and clarinets, respectively. He made use of the full ensemble
in the outer scenes which exemplify the need for virtuosic playing by every member of the
ensemble to perform complex rhythms together. Reynolds demonstrated his interest in solo timbres by the extended English horn solo that encompasses Scene Five as well as the flute and clarinet solos of Scene Two.
Reynolds also used orchestration to depict the atonal jazz style. He made use of whispa,
Harmon, and cup mutes in the trumpet soli sections that exemplify jazz timbre. His use of flute and clarinet for their solos, along with accompaniment by bongos and claves, represents jazz.
12 Reynolds.
16
Descriptive analysis
There is disagreement on the number of scenes in this work. Reynolds stated that there
are seven scenes, possibly dividing Scene Two into two segments, mm. 45–80 and mm. 81–132,
where the trumpet soli begins.13 Fennell delineated six scenes, but calls the offstage English
horn solo “Scene Four,” presumably combining it with the previous section at the same tempo,
then dividing the final section into two parts.14 Speck divided the piece into the six scenes as
listed above.15 This paper will use the last estimation, as it primarily divides the work by tempi.
The only case in which that deviates is distinguishing Scenes Four and Five, but the complete change in orchestration, along with a change to a new row form gives cause for that distinction.
Scene One, mm. 1–44
Measures Description 1–19 Introduction of complex polyrhythms; five note motive in opening 20–29 Bassoon and clarinet solos; static chordal accompaniment 30–36 “Swing” sixteenth and triplet motive takes over in brass with woodwind accompaniment; tutti statement at end of phrase 37–44 Coda section: sustained chords as built before; same motive used from beginning
The opening section of Scenes features extremely complex rhythms comprised of note
lengths between thirty-second notes to dotted half notes. Polyrhythms are often created between
two different sections with syncopated attacks, the slow tempo adding to the difficulty. The
horns begin the work with a five-note motive: C-sharp, E, D-sharp, F-sharp, G in thirty-second
13 Ibid.
14 Frederick Fennel, liner notes from Piece of Mind: Contemporary Mix, The Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, Kosei Publishing Company, KOCD-3560, 1992.
15 Speck, 733.
17 notes, accompanied by a forte sustained C-sharp in bassoons, trombones, tuba, and piano. The
rest of the woodwinds enter in the opening bar on beat 2, punctuated by bells, with trumpets
entering in staggered syncopated entrances to build the chord and eventually joining the upper
woodwinds in their rhythm in m. 2. The first tutti rhythm occurs in m. 3 on beat 3 where
instruments then deviate, playing syncopated accents to create new polyrhythms. Another tutti
accent occurs after beat 1 of m. 6 following an abrupt silence on the downbeat. Rhythmic activity
then slows to eighth- and quarter-note triplets in the brass, with woodwinds joining in m. 7. In m.
9 the ensemble is divided into two parts and plays a motive of two sixteenth-notes opposite of
each other, forecasting an important motive for the rest of the scene. A tutti crescendo follows to
the climax of this section in mm. 11–12 where not only the ensemble again has a tutti rhythm
followed by silence, but there is a cadence in the bass voices of G-sharp to C-sharp, followed by
a diminuendo.
The second half of this opening section begins much more quietly, with sustained chords
in the brass supporting quiet iterations of the sixteenth-note motive in oboes and clarinets,
respectively. Syncopated staggered entrances of sustained chords begin to build in m. 14 to
complex thirty-second note rhythms in oboes, bassoons, and clarinets in m. 16 that lead to the
final climactic punctuations in mm. 17–19 to end this section.
Two short solos in first bassoon and first clarinet outline the second section. These solos occur in mm. 20 and 24 respectively. The former is accompanied by sustained chords in the horns with sixteenth-note punctuations by trumpets, trombones, and temple blocks. Flutes enter in m. 23 with sustained notes that turn to trills in the next measure. Trumpets with Harmon mutes enter staggered in m. 25, adding to the sustained horns, clarinets, and trilling flutes. In m. 27 the
“turn” thirty-second note motive returns from the previous section in trumpets and trombones
18 who are also playing with Harmon mutes. Horns also move to trills at this point, and sustain to
the end of m. 29 with flutes while syncopated staggered entrances in oboes and bassoons end
with a tutti iteration of the “swing” sixteenth notes to end this section.
A pianissimo timpani roll on C is the only sound at the beginning of the third section.
Staggered entrances of sustained chords in clarinets, oboes, bassoons, horns and flutes join in mm. 30–32 with trumpets, trombones and tuba carrying the main melodic material of the
“swing” sixteenth notes and triplets. All voices crescendo and before the tutti climax in mm. 33–
35 trumpets 2, 3, and 4 break off in thirty-second note flourishes in m. 33. All voices cease after beat 1 of m. 35 except for the sustained notes in the clarinets at piano. Beginning with clarinet 3 each one plays a staggered transposed version of the same rhythmic figure in mm. 35–36, ending on a sustained chord leading into the final section.
This coda section of Scene One is marked by quiet static chords. As in the rest of the opening scene, Reynolds built these chords with syncopated entrances within families of instruments. Flutes begin in m. 37, followed by oboes and bassoons in m. 38–40, with clarinets dropping out in m. 38. There is again silence at the downbeat of m. 41, followed by a repetition of the opening five-note thirty-second note motive played in its entirety by flute 1 and celesta and outlined in the other flutes and muted horns, which continue with the sustained chord. A solo by clarinet 1 featuring dramatic leaps ends the scene, as flutes and horns release their chords in mm. 43 and 44, respectively, leaving only the E and D of the clarinets sounding on a fermata.
Scene Two, mm. 45–132
Measures Description 45–55 Syncopated chords introduce jazz feel; horns and trumpets introduced 56–70 Clarinet solo, syncopated brass accompaniment 71–80 Horn soli 81–96 Trumpet soli w/cup mutes: atonal jazz
19 97–114 Flute solo 115–32 Clarinet solo
The first section begins with a motive of two sixteenth notes, reminiscent of the earlier prevailing motive throughout Scene One but here at a faster tempo. The dyad of C-sharp–B- sharp is first stated in the left hand of the piano, then mimicked in temple blocks before being repeated again in the piano, this time with the second note up one octave and joined by the right
hand playing a descending D–E dyad. The xylophone plays a transposed inversion of this
motive, G-flat–F, a half beat after the piano in m. 47. This dialogue is repeated in m. 49 in these same instruments, with temple blocks joining xylophone one half of a beat following piano.
Meanwhile, syncopated chords are introduced by the oboes and bassoons in mm. 45–46 and horns trombones and tubas in mm. 47–48. Trumpets trail the rest of the brass in m. 48, with a punctuated eighth note after the lower brass release on the downbeat of m. 49. Woodwinds answer with more chordal syncopations, while an ascending, accelerating scalar figure begins in m. 49 in horns and tuba and continues into the trumpets in the following measures into the climax of the phrase in m. 52. A response in the piano and xylophone accompanied by bells and temple blocks follows in mm. 53–54. Syncopated sustained tones in the oboes, bassoons, horns, trombone 3, and tuba lead into the next section.
The second section of Scene Two is a short improvisation-like solo in clarinet 1 in two phrases. The first phrase (mm. 56–65) features a four-measure clarinet solo in sixteenth notes that consists of disjunct chromatic passages that ascend and descend. Syncopated rhythms at forte in the brass follow, with a woodwind chord interjected in m. 61 filling in before another
brass chord at the end of that measure. All voices release except for horns, who play a unison
figure at fortissimo in m. 62–63 that leads into the second phrase. The second phrase of the
20 clarinet solo is a variation of the ascending and descending figure, stated once in its entirety, and ending with a two and a half beat variation of the ascending figure in mm. 66–67.
An opposing sixteenth-note dyad figure begins in horns in m. 66 and continues until the canonic figure in m. 68, ending in a unison statement with bassoons and clarinets 2 and 3 in m.
69 and continuing through m. 75. This begins the rather short horn soli section, as it emerges from the previous section coinciding with the end of the clarinet solo. The rest of the section, mm. 76–80, serves primarily as a transition into the trumpet soli. Sustained chords in flutes and horns accompany a tuba solo. The tuba’s ascending eighth notes lead into the woodwinds and finally ends in a dyadic sixteenth note figure in m. 81 to forecast the trumpet soli.
The atonal jazz feel begins in this section. The entire trumpet section plays an extended passage with cup mutes that sounds like an improvised soli. The melodic material in this section is made up of scalar and chromatic passages in sixteenth notes, staggered trills, syncopations, and flutter tonguing. The only accompaniment is in percussion and piano in a rhythm section fashion. Constant eighth notes on G in timpani provide a motor while temple blocks, wood block, and triangle along with bells, xylophone, and piano play rhythmic interjections in hemiola. The piano has only one melodic idea, in m. 86, while the trumpet section plays a sustained trill. All the percussion except timpani converge to play a forte trill to accompany the trumpet flutter tongue dotted quarter note in m. 91, then remain silent through the end of the section. The climax in the trumpets occurs in m. 92 with a rapid set of repeating sixteenth notes that crescendo to fortissimo. The soli then quickly dissipates as the register in each part drops and shifts to longer notes that diminuendo to pianissimo. Trumpet 3 continues with a sustained F in m. 96 after all other trumpets have released, and plays a measured trilling figure of F–E in
21 sixteenth notes at the end of the bar that leads into the flute 2 F–E-flat figure to begin the next section.
The atonal jazz style continues in this section. The percussion accompaniment remains in the timpani eighth notes. Quarter note triplets in wood block and temple blocks as well as occasional sixteenth note interjections by claves are added, all at a subdued piano. Flutes 2 and 3 serve as an additional motor device, playing a constant, repeated dyad of F–E-flat in sixteenth notes in alternating measures. The flute solo itself sounds very free and improvisatory, consisting primarily of rapid sixteenth-note runs and syncopated wide leaps (Example 8). The range of the melody encompasses E-flat4 to B-flat6. This melody both begins and ends with the flute accompaniment dyad figure.
The final section of Scene Two features a solo by clarinet 1, with the same feel of atonal jazz prevailing. Accompaniment in this section is similar, with clarinets 2 and 3 playing the F–E- flat sixteenth note figure as above but one octave lower at pianissimo. The percussion accompaniment also is lighter as the triplets in wood block and temple blocks cease and are replaced with constant sixteenth notes in bongos at piano beginning in m. 116. Another example of jazz feel is introduced not only by the timbre of this instrument, but by Reynolds’s instruction to “improvise, gradually more complex, but always p.”16 The clarinet solo is similar in style to
the flute solo, with sixteenth note scalar and chromatic figures and wide syncopated leaps dominating (Example 8). This section serves as a transition into the quieter and mysterious aleatoric section by the use of softer dynamics and lighter orchestration. As before, the clarinet solo begins and ends with the clarinet accompaniment dyad figure.
16 Verne Reynolds, Scenes (New York: G. Schirmer, 1974): 22.
22 Scene Three, mm. 133–44
Measures Description 133–38 Piano row statement: P0 139 Chimes row statement: P6 140 Oboes row statement: P3 141 Horns row statement: P4 142 Trombones row statement: P1 143 Trumpets row statement: P2
Scene Three is comprised of six statements of various transpositions of the P0 row. This
entire scene is aleatoric, with the row statement each time presented in quarter notes at fifty beats
per minute while other voices play various freely repeated figures at different tempi. The texture and dynamics generally increase over the course of the scene.
The first section begins with pianissimo triplet, sixteenth note, and trill figures in the low registers of flutes, clarinets 2 and 3, and horns at 138 beats per minute. Trombones with straight mutes play glissandi at fifty beats per minute. The percussion from the previous section fade out in the first measure while bass drum begins a pianissimo roll. The effect of the accompanimental parts is a low, soft murmuring. The P0 row is presented in mm. 136–38 in the left hand of the piano.
In the second section flutes, clarinets, and horns continue with their figures while oboes enter with staccato figures at four different tempi (132, 100, 72, and 60) and oboes 2, 3, and 4 are asked to “repeat with different pitches.”17 Trombones have new figures consisting of alternating
glissandi with repeated sixteenth and thirty-second notes. Reynolds gradually builds dynamics
and changes timbre in the horns. Horns 3, 4, and 5 are asked to play the figure once, twice, and
17 Ibid., 24.
23 three times, respectively, muted then removing the mute before continuing to repeat.18 The row
at the P6 transposition is played by the chimes at mezzo-piano.
The third section has a continuation of figures in horns 1 and 2 and trombones at piano, with similar instructions on the removal of mutes. Horn 3 plays a staccato eighth-note figure similar to the previous oboe material with wide leaps, and horns 4 and 5 play a trilled B in octaves. Flutes 1 and 2 change to a slurred quarter note statement of twelve pitches 138 beats per minute, while flutes 2 and 3 rest in this section for a change to piccolo. Clarinets also have new material, with clarinet 1 playing disjunct sixteenth note passages and clarinets 2 and 3 playing scalar and arpeggiated eighth note triplet figures at three different tempi, 138, 100, and 72. Piano plays a staccato C, the highest note on the instrument, “five or six times at random.”19 A
pianissimo Tam-tam roll adds to the piano bass drum roll. Oboes present the row at the P3 level
at fortissimo with all notes accented.
Section four has a continuation of the clarinet figures, with a change in dynamic to
mezzo-forte, and one in articulation in clarinet 2 from slurred to staccato. All other voices have
new material: sixteenth notes in flutes, trilled figures in piccolo, syncopations and triplets in
oboes, triplets in trombones 1 and 2, and an accelerating rhythm in trombone 3. The tuba enters
with wide leaping eighth note figures tied to quarter notes and timpani enters on a rolled C at
piano. The piano increases the number of times the C is played. The overall accompaniment
dynamic is mezzo-forte. Horns present the row at the P4 level at forte with all notes accented.
In the fifth section flutes and piccolo 1 continue their figures at increased tempi and
dynamic. Piccolo 2 enters with a figure of 4 paired staccato eighth notes. Oboes continue with
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid., 25.
24 their figures, also at increased dynamic, with oboes 2 and 3 switching parts and oboe 1 playing at
a faster tempo. Clarinets have new figures, with clarinet 3 grouped with horns 1, 2, and 3 on their
trilled passage. Tuba changes to a two and a half octave glissando from A to E-flat. Tenor drum
joins the rest of the percussion with a roll, and piano changes to “slow, random tone clusters”
that accelerate with the pedal held the entire time.20 The row is presented in trombones at the P1
transposition at fortissimo. The overall accompaniment dynamic is forte.
The sixth and final section of Scene Three consists of fewer different ideas and sheer
numbers of notes, but an increase in register and dynamic. All accompaniment parts are now
fortissimo except percussion who crescendo throughout. High trills exist in flutes, clarinet 3, and
horns 4 and 5. Piccolos, clarinet 1, and horn one have moving triplet and sixteenth note figures,
while trombones play accelerating rhythms on static pitches in their upper register. The tuba
glissando has also moved up one octave and shortened to the interval of a seventh. Piano clusters continue and increase in frequency. The row is presented by trumpets at the P2 transposition.
Scene Four, mm. 145–77
Measures Description 144–55 First phrase of trumpet melody 156–65 Variation of first phrase 166–77 Return of original material
Scene Four presents a strikingly different mood to the previous section. Gone are the
complex rhythms and juxtaposed parts at different tempi. Static chords at pianissimo in flutes, clarinets, horns, trombones, tuba, piano and chimes provide the only accompaniment to a trumpet melody consisting mostly of half notes or longer, played with whispa mutes. The nature of the trumpet melody is one of shifting time, as phrases begin on different beats, with the
20 Ibid., 27.
25 accompaniment in the winds shifting as well. The overall form of this section is generally
ternary, with the first notes of the trumpet melody, B-flat–C and G–A, returning at m. 167 as
well as the accompaniment returning to the original chord. Percussion accompaniment consists of rolled Tam-tam and bass drum at pianissimo, with timpani C quarter notes always preceding the accompaniment chords by one beat. In m. 175 the chimes begin a pianissimo roll on C and F-
sharp, played with sticks rather than chime mallets. This roll along with the Tam-tam continues
into and through Scene Five.
Scene Five, mm. 178–207
Measures Description 177–85 First phrase: offstage English horn solo on new row 186–97 Second phrase: free elaboration on the row 198–207 Third phrase: begins like original row, but changes at the eleventh note; ends on D-flat for transition into final scene
Scene Five represents the quietest section of Scenes, consisting entirely of an offstage
English horn solo accompanied only by Tam-tam and chime rolls. The solo is divided into three phrases. The first phrase is the serial presentation of a new row: {1 0 5 7 3 T 8 E 6 4 2 9} (see
Example 3). Again Reynolds composes slower rhythms that alternate between strong and weak beat entrances, with occasional eighth notes being the fastest unit in this first phrase.
The second phrase (mm. 186–97) is a free elaboration on the row. Some pitches are repeated and used out of order, but all twelve pitches are used. This phrase is much more
rhythmically active and dramatic with its wider leaps and crescendo to fortissimo in m. 193.
The third phrase (mm. 198–207) begins similarly to the first phrase, reflecting the ternary
nature of the previous scene. The row is presented in order with slight rhythmic variations from
the first phrase. Beginning with beat four of m. 204 the melody deviates from the row to present
26 a short coda consisting of three, three-note motives that converge on D-flat in the first measure of Scene Six.
Scene Six, mm. 208–400
Measures Description 208–29 Establishment of triplet motor in horns, trombones; Melodic statements in trumpets, bassoons, clarinets, flutes 230–43 Trumpet soli with different mutes 244–55 Transition: sustained notes outline tone row in triplets 256–74 Trumpet soli continued 275–300 Transition: sustained notes outline triplet entrances of tone row notes; ends with forte sustained C-sharp in woodwinds 301–13 Transition: triplets turn to sixteenths on C-sharp 314–25 Più mosso, clarinet statement of row with brass interjections 326–38 Bassoons present row fragment 339–47 Woodwind C-sharp inverse pedal 348–83 Horn statement of tone row six times 384–400 Coda: convergence on c-sharp; cadence at m. 392
The final scene is largely based on yet another tone row: {1 T 0 6 5 2 3 E 4 9 7 8}
(Example 4). The triplet motor that underlies most of this final scene uses part or all of this row for each entrance through m. 308. The first section of Scene Six features the establishment of this motor in horns and trombones, using ten pitches of the above row. Fragmented melodic statements occur in trumpets, bassoons, oboes, clarinets, and flutes. The trumpet motives are more rapid rhythmically than the others, consisting mostly of sixteenth notes and syncopated figures that forecast their upcoming soli. The bassoons, oboes, clarinets, and flutes have much more lyric fragments based on half notes with eighth notes leading in and out of them. The climax of this opening section occurs in mm. 227–29 as the texture builds to include almost all of the woodwinds along with trumpets that crescendo to contrasting rhythmic figures at forte in m.
229. This quickly diminishes into sustained piano tones in flutes 1 and 2, bassoon 2, clarinet 1, and trumpet 2.
27 The sustained pitches and slower motives continue into the second section (mm. 230–43)
with interjections by tuba, oboes, bassoons, and trumpet 1. This last statement in mm. 233–35
coincides with trumpet 1 who is accompanied by the rest of the trumpets, each using different
mutes; trumpet 2 using straight mute, trumpet 3, cup mute, and trumpet 4, Harmon mute. This begins an atonal jazz soli by the trumpets that lasts through the end of the section. Their melody is made up of short, syncopated fragments that play off of each other in an improvisatory manner. These quick riffs dissipate in m. 240 into sustained notes where they fade to piano. A
transition occurs in mm. 244–55 where the texture consists entirely of the triplet motor and
sustained notes in the woodwinds that outline entrances of each new pitch in the row.
The trumpet soli continues in mm. 256–74, with trumpets 1, 3, and 4 carrying the
improvisatory ideas and trumpet 2 joining the triplet motor. Segments of this trumpet melody are
transposed retrograde inversions of each other, as in mm. 256–58 and mm. 265–67 in trumpets 1
and 3. After the latter statement, the melodies become more fragmented and are composed in a
call-and-response manner, with each of these three parts complementing the others rhythmically
in mm. 267–71. At this point trumpet 1 begins a series of repeated sixteenth notes while trumpets
3 and 4 continue playing off of each other in a close segment of time as the texture thickens in
the accompaniment in a crescendo into the next section.
A long transition section in two parts follows in mm. 275–313. A short climax occurs in
mm. 275–76, and Reynolds used the juxtaposition of the absence of the triplets in the winds with
xylophone to create an arrival point. After this climax the texture again consists entirely of the
triplet motor with sustained tones in the woodwinds outlining each new note from the tone row.
Dynamics increase throughout this transition section, and the texture increases to m. 296 where a
short silence occurs followed by an inverse pedal C-sharp in flutes, oboes, and clarinets against
28 triplets in the brass consisting vertically of all twelve pitches. A diminuendo occurs in
woodwinds and all brass drop out except trumpet 1 in m. 300. The motor changes to sixteenth
notes in m. 301 and continues at forte. The rest of the brass join trumpet 1 in staggered entrances
on pitches in the order of the tone row so that by m. 307 all twelve pitches are heard in score order from trumpet 1 down to tuba. The motor abruptly stops in m. 308 on beat three with woodwinds , piano, and bells playing all twelve pitches at fortissimo on sustained tones. This idea is repeated in m. 309 after a short burst of the motor with xylophone and rolled snare drum added. The two voices come together and lead into the next section.
The next section is marked Più mosso with dotted half note equal to sixty-six beats per minute. This is a substantial increase in tempo, with the “feel” of each measure being in one rather than in three. This section (mm. 314–25) sees the first presentation of the P1 row horizontally by the same voice in clarinets 2 and 3. Brass and percussion interjections occur on the sustained C-sharps that begin each row statement. These interjections vary in rhythm beginning as triplets but also consisting of syncopated half notes and sixteenth notes. These interjections carry into the next section (mm. 326–38) where the bassoons continue in the manner of the clarinets, but present only a fragment of the row. Clarinets sustain a C-sharp across this section as do bassoons after playing their row fragment. Oboes enter the sustained texture in m. 332, and their material ends in m. 338 with the last two notes of the row (G, G- sharp), with the downbeat of m. 339 a C-sharp.
C-sharp is fully established as a pedal by all woodwind voices in m. 339, accented by the bells and tuba on beat three of that measure. Staggered entrances of a tied half note in brass lead
to the tutti triplet interjections returning. Both these voices crescendo through the end of this
transitional section into m. 348.
29 The climax section of the final scene occurs in mm. 348–83 and consists of six statements by the horns of the P1 row at fortissimo. Each statement begins with a sustained C-sharp that lasts seven beats, followed by the remainder of the row played in quarter notes, with the last two notes slurred. There is a different interjection on the sustained pitch each time, gradually increasing in dynamic, texture, and tessitura. The last two notes of the row on the last statement
(m. 383) are also played by piccolo, flutes, and bells in the upper register to accentuate the finality of this statement. The coda begins at m. 384 and consists of adding voices to the sustained C-sharp. Trumpets play C-sharp triplets with low brass joining the sustained voices in mm. 384–85. A change to a dissonant chord occurs in woodwinds and horns in m. 388, with low brass entering in m. 390 and a final cadence occurs to a tutti C-sharp in m. 392. Triplets in tenor drum, snare drum and timpani crescendo to the end, as trumpets cease their triplets in m. 396 to join the sustained tone.
30 CHAPTER 3
SCENES REVISITED
Overview
Commission circumstances
Scenes Revisited was commissioned by H. Robert Reynolds for the University of
Michigan Wind Ensemble in 1977.21 He commissioned Reynolds to write the piece based on his admiration of Scenes and “thought he would be able to write another really good piece.”22
H. Robert Reynolds asked if saxophones and euphoniums could be included in this work due to the quality of those studios at the University of Michigan. The piece was premiered in April,
1977 and was admired greatly by the students in the ensemble.23 It remained unpublished and
available only through the composer until 2004, when it was published by Boosey & Hawkes as
part of their “Windependence” series.
Instrumentation 4 Flutes (3rd and 4th double Piccolo) 4 Percussion: Snare Drum 4 Oboes Tenor Drum 6 B-flat Clarinets Bass Drum 2 Bassoons Tam-tam B-flat Soprano Saxophone Bells E-flat Alto Saxophone Xylophone B-flat Tenor Saxophone Chimes E-flat Baritone Saxophone Temple blocks 6 B-flat Trumpets Wood block 6 French horns Claves 4 Trombones Bongos Euphonium Cymbals Tuba Timbales Timpani
21 Verne Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, ii.
22 H. Robert Reynolds, “Scenes Revisited information,” private e-mail message to author, 15 November 2005.
23 Ibid.
31 Form
Scene Measures Tempo Description Introduction 1 Free time Wall-of-Sound chord
= 60, accelerando to 138 1 2–32 Quintuplets; clarinet, flute, horn, tutti turn motive
2 33–165 = 138 Atonal jazz section: Tutti syncopated rhythms, clarinet
and soprano saxophone
figures; clarinet, saxophone,
flute, bassoon solis; tutti imitation
3 166–217 = 48, 54 Horn soli
4 218–46 = 60 Tuba/whispa-muted trumpet duet
5 247–86 = 88 Sextuplets: trumpets, horns, low brass
6 287–332 = 88 Trumpet tone row; increasing aleatoric accompaniment;
sextuplets in percussion
= 88 Coda 333–38 Wall-of-Sound chord, percussion sextuplets
Pitch Analysis
12-tone Rows and their manipulations
Four different 12-tone rows appear throughout the work. The first complete row occurs in mm. 10–11 in the xylophone, bells, and chimes in sixteenth-note quintuplets. Following is the row: {3 5 9 7 6 1 0 4 T 8 2 E }and will be labeled P3.
32 Example 9: Scenes Revisited, P3 row
This row is repeated by the first, second, and third trumpets in canon in mm. 14–16. In mm. 11–
16 the French horns play the same row, but each begins at different place in the row. Each part
begins with a quarter note tied to a series of quintuplets which becomes the starting point for the
row presentation. For example, Horn 1 starts on B-flat in m. 11, and this becomes the starting
pitch for the presentation of an incomplete row of pitches: {T 8 2 E 3 5 7 6}. Horn 2 begins in m.
11 on D and plays the complete row beginning on this pitch, or {2 E 3 5 9 7 6 1 0 4 T 8}. Horns
3, 4, 5, and 6 use this same scheme beginning on G, C, G-sharp, and D-sharp, respectively.
Example 10: Scenes Revisited, P3 row manipulation
Hn. 1: T 8 2 E 3 5 9 7 6 1 0 4 (2 ½ times) Hn. 2: 2 E 3 5 9 7 6 1 0 4 T 8 (4 times, but last time starts on 3) Hn. 3: 7 6 1 0 4 T 8 2 E 3 5 9 (3 times) Hn. 4: 8 2 E 3 5 9 7 6 1 0 4 T ( 3 times, but last time starts on T) Hn. 5: E 3 5 9 7 6 1 0 4 T 8 2 (3 times, but 2nd and 3rd times start on T) Hn. 6: 0 4 T 8 2 E 3 5 9 7 6 1 (2 ½ times) Hns. 4, 5, 6 use repeated note as a “pickup” to the next statement of the row
Reynolds used a similar technique with a different row in the woodwind quintuplets in
mm. 29–30. Beginning with oboes 3 and 4, we find the following row: {0 E 1 5 2 3 T 9 4 6 8 7}
and will be subsequently referred to as P0.
Example 11: Scenes Revisited, P0 row
He presented the same row in the clarinets and bassoons, but each part begins on a different pitch
and repeats the row beginning at that point three times. The last three notes of the phrase begin a fourth time through the row. Below is a listing of each part’s starting pitch.
33 Example 12: Scenes Revisited, P0 row manipulation Ob. 3–4: 0 E 1 5 2 3 T 9 4 6 8 7 Cl. 1: 4 6 8 7 0 E 1 5 2 3 T 9 Cl. 2: begins on 2 Cl. 3: begins on 1 Cl. 4: begins on 0 Cl. 5: begins on 3 Cl. 6: begins on 7 Bsns. 1–2: begin on T
Reynolds combined serial technique with improvisation-like composition for the clarinet and soprano saxophone interjections in mm. 42–49. The primary row is
{T 9 4 5 6 1 0 E 2 3 7 8}, presented the first time in mm. 42–43.
Example 13, Scenes Revisited, clarinet and saxophone row
When the row is repeated in m. 45 and mm. 46–47 he adds repeated notes to extend the phrase,
but the motive begins and ends in the same manner.
Example 14, Scenes Revisited, mm. 45–48, clarinets and soprano saxophone
The most obvious and strict use of a 12-tone row occurs in the final scene. The trumpets
present the row {T 5 6 0 1 2 8 3 9 7 4 E} in unison in mm. 288–95, and will be referred to as
P10.
34 Example 15: Scenes Revisited, P10 row
There are five statements of this row, transposed up a semitone in each successive phrase, using
the last note of the previous statement as the first note of the consequent phrase.
Example 16: Scenes Revisited, P10 row manipulation
mm. 288–95: {T 5 6 0 1 2 8 3 9 7 4 E} mm. 296–303: {E 6 7 1 2 3 9 4 T 8 5 0} mm. 304–11: {0 7 8 2 3 4 T 5 E 9 6 1} mm. 312–19: {1 8 9 3 4 5 E 6 0 T 7 2} mm. 320–27: {2 9 T 4 5 6 0 7 1 E 8 3}
Pitch Centricity
Reynolds combined serial techniques with traditional tonal schemes to create
cohesiveness on a large scale throughout the work. By examining strong bass pitches at key
points in the piece, this tonal foundation becomes clear.
Example 17: Scenes Revisited tonal scheme Section: Intro. One Two Three Four Five Six Coda Bass pitch: D A D G B-flat D B-flat E-flat – D Relationship: I V I IV VI I VI N I
The bass note of the opening chord is D, played by baritone saxophone, euphonium, tuba, and timpani. The pitch A serves as a transition from the introduction into Scene One. Clarinet 1 plays an A against the G in clarinet 2, followed by a sustained A in staggered trumpet entrances in mm.
2–8, with the xylophone repeating an A in quintuplets in mm. 7–10. After the first presentation of the P3 row, the trumpet and bells return to A in m. 17 where it again appears as a transition between these two sections. The bells continue to repeat the A persistently above the ensemble through m. 24.
35 The pitch D becomes important throughout Scene Two for it serves as a repeated bass
pitch in the timpani, often isolated from the rest of the ensemble on the syncopated figures. D is
reinforced at the end of the scene in mm. 51–54 as the bass note of the chord that leads into
Scene Three in baritone saxophone, trombones, euphonium, tuba, and timpani. The pitch D is
also prominent during the flute soli of Scene Three in the clarinet and vibraphone triplet motor of
D-E.
G becomes important during the bassoon duet of Scene Two played in repeated eighth
notes by the timpani, serving as the underpinning bass of this section. B-flat is prominent in the bass instruments including tuba, timpani, bassoon 2, and baritone saxophone throughout Scene
Three (mm. 170–208). D returns as the bass pitch at end of Scene Three in m. 210 in bassoons, baritone saxophone, euphonium, tuba and timpani, with the timpani D sustained into the next scene. Scene Four comes to a cadence on B-flat in the tuba in m. 240, followed by the echo in trumpets and repeat before the trumpets distort it by semitones and trills in mm. 244–46.
In Scene Six E-flat is established in the bass in m. 320 by bassoons, baritone saxophone, and tuba. The last statement of the trumpet row ends on E-flat and becomes the unison pitch in m. 332. The bass then moves down to D as in the opening chord in a type of Phrygian cadence.
Examining the larger tonal scale of the work, the piece is centered on D, with the dominant of A and subdominant of G serving as structural points throughout the work.
36 Stylistic Elements
Improvisatory sections
Reynolds was influenced by what he called “atonal jazz” inspired by Dizzy Gillespie and can be heard throughout Scenes Revisited.24 The first instance of improvisatory writing occurs in
Scene Two in the clarinets and soprano saxophone in mm. 42–43. As stated above, the row is improvised upon through m. 49 by adding repeated semitones in the middle of each occurrence of the row. Following this is an extended soli section for clarinets and saxophones whose primary material concerns the development of the sixteenth note figurations presented earlier.
Reynolds freely composed these figures with no obvious pitch center that trade off among the clarinet and saxophone soloists throughout mm. 54–81, imitating jazz soloists trading off passages.
Example 18: Scenes Revisited, mm. 55–58; clarinets and saxophones
24 Verne Reynolds, ii.
37 Occasionally each of the families play a unison syncopated rhythm in between solo sections, as in mm. 63–64, 66–67, and 71–72. The motive played by the saxophones in mm. 72 and 76 forecasts an important rhythmic motive in the bassoon soli section and its imitation later.
The piccolo and flute soli in mm.83–108 represent another type of improvisatory writing.
In this section the piccolos and flutes are almost exclusively in unison rhythm, and Reynolds used various tetrachords as the harmonic structure for this passage. While this section lacks the rhythmic activity of the previous soli section, the syncopated nature and harmonic unpredictability remind the listener of a jazz flute section.
The most unique and striking occurrence of improvisatory composition occurs in the bassoon duet and subsequent tutti imitation in the last section of Scene Two. The bassoons play exactly the same rhythms in octaves throughout this section in mm. 112–44. These rhythmic figures are both highly syncopated and unpredictable. The accompaniment consists of repeated eighth notes in the timpani, repeated sixteenth notes in the bongos, and imitations of the bassoon figures in timbales. Actual improvisation is required in the timpani and bongo parts. Reynolds asked for occasional accents in the timpani part, and the bongo player must “improvise
(occasionally imitating timbales).” 25
Aleatory
Reynolds relegated aleatory to Scenes Four, Five, and Six. There is only one instance of aleatory in Scene Four, a pianissimo set of thirteen pitches played independently of metered time by the clarinets and repeated throughout mm. 219–45. There are three different sets of pitches played by pairs of clarinets in the following groupings: clarinets 1 and 4, clarinets 2 and 3, and clarinets 5 and 6.
25 Ibid., 24.
38 Example 19: Scenes Revisited, mm. 219–23; clarinets
Reynolds used a greater amount of aleatory in Scene Seven. The entire trumpet section begins a staggered trill in mm. 256–57 on the following pitches: D5, C-sharp5, B4, A4, G4, F- sharp4. From that point through m. 269 they are instructed to play a frequent 32nd note pitch a tritone above the primary trill note indeterminately at forte. This technique provides the effect of bebop jazz trumpet playing.
Example 20: Scenes Revisited, mm. 257–60; trumpets
39
The other instance of aleatoric writing in this scene occurs in the horn parts of mm. 268–79.
Reynolds wrote staggered entrances of a repeated nineteen-note palindromic set of ascending and descending sixteenth notes to be played indeterminately and repeated in the range of A3 to E5.
The set of pitches is the same in all six parts.
Example 21: Scenes Revisited, mm. 268–71; French horns
The greatest use of aleatory appears in Scene Eight, where it provides accompaniment to the trumpet statement of a 12-tone row. The accompaniment increases in density throughout this final scene and encompasses mm. 296–327. The horns have the first figures of measured sixteenth notes in six groups of four notes beginning in m. 296.
Example 22: Scenes Revisited, mm. 296–303; French horns
40 The figure is generally chromatic in the range of F3 to F4 and occurs in staggered entrances, repeated freely through m. 311 by horns 4, 5, and 6. Horns 1, 2, and 3 change to an unmeasured set of 12 pitches in m. 304 in the range of D-flat5 to D4 that is repeated through m. 327. This new figure is slurred in Horns 1 and 3 and articulated staccato in Horn 2.
Example 23: Scenes Revisited, m. 304; French horns 1–3
Also at m. 304 the trombones enter in a shortened version of the original sixteenth note passage, this set only containing thirteen notes in the range of F3 to E-flat4. Trombones 1 and 2 change figures at m. 312 to increasingly faster repeated static notes, playing G-sharp4 and D4 respectively, while trombones 3 and 4 continue the original figure through m. 327.
Example 24: Scenes Revisited, mm. 304–8, m. 312; trombones
The woodwinds enter at m. 312 with each family having its own unique figure. Flutes 1 and 2 present a sixteenth-note sextuplet followed by a whole note trill. The flute 1 motive is one step higher than that of flute 2. This motive is repeated indeterminately through m. 327. The two
41 piccolos enter with the same motives at m. 320, the piccolo 1 playing the same figure as flute 1, and piccolo 2 the same figure as flute 2, with the pitches sounding one octave higher. The oboes each enter in staggered entrances in m. 312 with an F-sharp5 whole-note trill with a sixteenth- note C6 ending the figure. This motive is repeated through m. 327. The clarinets and soprano saxophone enter in staggered entrances in mm. 312–13 with the same motive, an indeterminately paced group of seventeen notes in the range of F5 to C-sharp6.
Example 25: Scenes Revisited, mm. 312–16; woodwinds
42 The last events to enter occur in m. 320. Alto saxophone begins an indeterminately paced figure of twelve notes in the range of D4 to E5 that is repeated through m. 327. Tenor and baritone saxophones as well as bassoons enter with the sustained pitches of A2 and Eb2, respectively, while euphonium and tuba enter playing these same respective pitches at rapidly increasing paces.
Example 26: Scenes Revisited, m. 320; saxophones, euphonium and tuba
Orchestration
Reynolds demonstrated interest in changing timbres within certain sections. Trumpets use both whispa and straight mutes, trombones use straight mutes and horns have muted passages as well. He is also specific with mallet choices for percussion instruments. In m. 4 he calls for marimba mallets to be used on the temple blocks, in m. 59 medium rubber mallets for them, and in m. 61 hard mallets for the vibraphone. Throughout the bassoon duet section he requires the timpani, bongos and timbales to be played with the fingers. Later in the same section as the texture increases he requires wood mallets for timpani and snare drum sticks for the bongos. This
43 specificity demonstrates not only Reynolds’s experience with mutes as a brass player, but also his understanding of, and desire for, specific timbres in the percussion section.
Much of Reynolds’s orchestration reflects the jazz influence previously mentioned. The improvisation-like passages in Scene Three are scored for clarinets, saxophones, and vibraphones, which are all associated with jazz. The flute soli of the same scene with its syncopated rhythms are reminiscent of a modern jazz flute quartet, where again clarinets and vibraphone are used as accompaniment. While the bassoon is not an instrument generally associated with jazz, it is the accompaniment of bongos and timbales that give a jazz sound to
Scene Four. These Latin percussion instruments, along with the reedy sound of the bassoons, are reminiscent of more primal, Latin jazz styles. The trumpet aleatoric section of Scene Five with the trills and tritone leaps give the impression of bebop trumpet solos.
Orchestration also plays a large role in the climax points of each scene. In Scene One
Reynolds’s orchestration ranges from a solo muted trumpet in m. 3 to the full ensemble playing at fortissimo in m. 32 at the end of the scene. He uses the full ensemble again to imitate the bassoon duet for the climax of Scene Two in mm. 153–59. The end of Scene Three sees the use of the entire ensemble pitted against the French horns in mm. 212–17. Again almost the entire ensemble is used in mm. 285–86 as a transition into Scene Eight. At the climax of this scene, the entire ensemble is used playing various aleatoric figures to create tension then suddenly disappears as the trumpets and French horns play a unison E-flat in m. 330, followed by the addition of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, saxophones, trombones, euphonium, and tuba in m. 332.
44 Descriptive analysis
Introduction, m. 1
The first measure of Scenes Revisited consists of a chord played by the entire ensemble in
free time and serves as an introduction to the work. Reynolds calls this opening an
“impenetrable, opaque wall of tragedy that one can neither hear nor see through.” 26
Example 27: Scenes Revisited, opening chord reduction The chord is divided into ten measured segments of time, gradually decreasing from sixteen
seconds to five seconds as well as decreasing in texture and dynamic. Percussion scoring includes a small snare drum and tenor drum playing fast single stroke rolls, while bass drum and
Tam-tam play unmeasured rolls. Trumpets, horns and trombones gradually add mutes at events
five, six, seven, and eight. The chord changes in pitch content at the eighth event. The first chord consists of every pitch except E natural. The second chord contains every pitch except E natural and D natural.
26 Ibid., ii.
45 Scene One, mm. 2–32
Measures Description 2–17 Sixteenth-note quintuplet melody 18–32 Semitone turn motive
The rhythmic structure of the first section is based on a sixteenth note quintuplet motor introduced by temple blocks, claves, wood block, xylophone and bells beginning at m. 4. The remnants of the opening chord are sustained A and B pitches in clarinets in m. 2, followed by trumpets sustaining only the A in mm. 2–8. The xylophone continues the A in quintuplets in m.8, while bells enter on B-flat in m. 10.
Clarinets 3, 4, 5 and 6 have solo melodic entrances in mm. 9–10 before they become part of the quintuplet motor that begins in m.11–13 when they are joined by horns, bells, vibraphone, and chimes, all presenting rotations of the P3 row. Trumpets join the quintuplets at m. 14 playing the row in canon, creating a dense polyphonic texture. This quintuplet material serves as the sole melodic and harmonic content for this section.
The melodic material of the second section is based on a repeated motive consisting of two thirty-second notes a semitone apart tied to longer notes consisting of the first pitch. Flutes and clarinets first present the motive in mm. 18 and 20, with oboes and bassoons entering with it in m. 22. In between these statements are short solo passages that come out of the sustained pitches in flute 1, clarinet 1, bassoon 1, and horn 1, respectively. In contrast to this motive, accompaniment in the percussion is provided by slower moving quarter note triplet and eighth note lines in bells, vibraphones, and chimes. Diminution of the motive occurs in relation to time beginning in m. 27 as the motives occur closer together in addition to an accelerando. The full ensemble plays the final iteration of the motive in m. 28 where a transition into Scene Two begins. In m. 29 the woodwinds play sixteenth note quintuplets in different rotation of the P0
46 row, while the brass play syncopated tutti chords through m. 32. Bells and chimes imitate the
woodwind quintuplets by playing improvised pitches in the same rhythm, then as fast as possible at m. 31, while the xylophone improvises as fast as possible from m. 29.
Scene Two, mm. 33–165.
Scene Two encompasses the atonal jazz section of the work. This scene is divided into four sections as follows:
Measures Description 33–53 Tutti syncopations with clarinet and soprano saxophone figurations 54–82 Clarinet and saxophone solis 83–111 Flute soli 112–65 Bassoon soli, saxophone iteration, horn iteration, tutti ensemble transition
The first section serves as an introduction to the scene, with a repeated chord played in
various syncopated rhythms by all of the brass and woodwinds except bassoons. A second chord
is occasionally played by all woodwinds except baritone saxophone and trumpets, horns, and
trombones 1 and 2 in between the tutti iterations of the first chord. Its appearance becomes more
prominent in the figures following throughout the section and the bass instruments begin to
simply outline the rhythms as they become more complex in the rest of the ensemble. Timpani
and bass drum have isolated eighth-notes that occur in the silences of the woodwinds and brass,
while xylophone, bells, and chimes continue to improvise freely in sixteenth notes throughout
this entire section. Beginning in m. 41 and continuing in mm. 42–43, 45, and 47–48 are sixteenth
note figures in the clarinets and soprano saxophone that occur between iterations of the rest of
the ensemble’s syncopated figures. These figures are extended with each successive entrance
(Example 14). Alto and tenor saxophones, bassoons, horns and euphonium join the clarinets and
soprano saxophone in a gradually descending sixteenth-note passage that leads into long
47 fortissimo chords played by the rest of the ensemble in mm. 51–53 to serve as a transition into
the next section.
The second section features alternating solos played by clarinets 1 and 2, and the
saxophone section. These solos consist of sixteenth note scalar and arpeggiated passages with no
obvious pitch center. This was forecast by the clarinet and soprano saxophone figures played in
the previous section. These passages are interrupted by tutti syncopated motives played by the
clarinet and saxophone sections. The texture is primarily monophonic, with the only
accompaniment being light percussion. Temple blocks and vibraphone occasionally join the
sixteenth-note passages, playing fragments of them. Claves and woodblocks play isolated eighth-
note attacks either in silences or to outline structural points in the syncopated chords played by the woodwinds. The section comes to an end beginning in m. 72 with all clarinets playing a palindrome sixteenth-note motive in canon at the quarter-note and saxophones continuing tutti syncopated rhythms. The sixteenth-note alternating notes become eighth-note triplets in clarinets
5 and 6 and vibraphone in m. 81, and serve as the rhythmic underpinning of the third section.
Section three consists of two flutes and two piccolos playing tetrachords almost exclusively in unison rhythms. The only deviation is a canon in mm. 85–87. The texture is more homophonic, although still very light. An eighth-note triplet motor consisting of alternating D and E pitches occurs in clarinets 5 and 6 and vibraphone through m. 104. The only other accompaniment is provided by temple blocks, claves, and woodblock playing alternating quarter- note triples, eighth notes, and quintuplet eighth notes which collectively obscure the sense of time.
The fourth section of Scene Two begins in m. 112. The melodic content for most of the section consists of the bassoons playing unison rhythms one octave apart with imitations in the
48 timbales creating a dialogue between the two. The rhythmic structure continues the syncopated nature of the previous sections. Reynolds alludes to the jazz nature of this section by commenting that “the performers must ‘swing.’”27 The bassoon and timbales duet is thirty-two measures in length, ending in m. 144. Following the duet in mm. 145–48 is an imitation of the last four bars of the bassoon soli by the saxophone section in tetrachords. This motive functions as a call-and-response with bongos and timbales, while the entire clarinet section plays sixteenth note arpeggiated and scalar figures in unison that contain the same pitches as in mm. 72–73. In mm. 149–52, all French horns play another imitation of the same material in unison, with the saxophones playing the sixteenth-note figures while clarinets have sustained chords that change with each new iteration of the saxophone motive. A final statement of the bassoon motive occurs in mm. 153–55 by the entire ensemble in call and response fashion. The lead group is trumpets, trombones, euphonium, tuba, timpani, and tenor drum, while the trailing group is all woodwinds,
French horns, bongos and timbales. The scene ends with sustained chords in the woodwinds and brass in mm. 155–65, while the tenor drum continues to playing a truncated version of the eighth-note motive. The chord at m. 160 is similar to the opening chord of the piece, in that every pitch is used except E, but it is voiced differently. The chord decreases in dynamic intensity and voices cease playing, also as in the introduction, but this time in metered time.
Scene Three, mm. 166–217
Scene Three is comprised of what Reynolds calls “very slow, ‘scorched earth’ music” and is divided into three sections with a coda.28
27 Ibid.
28 Ibid.
49
Measures Description 166–73 Introduction: French horns staggered entrance on D-flat 174–91 French horn unison melody with brass and tenor drum accompaniment 192–211 Woodwinds join accompaniment opposite brass and tenor drum 212–17 Coda: French horns play unison D-flat; accompaniment in unison rhythm
The first section serves as an introduction to the scene, with horns beginning on a unison
D-flat played at staggered entrances by each player. Sustained pitches in clarinets and a roll in the Tam-tam continue from the previous scene. Trombones, euphonium, and tuba enter at m. 170 with the hexachord {Bb, F, C, D, E, G}or set 6-33 [0,2,3,5,7,9] played in unison rhythm. This
rhythm is then answered by tenor drum, similar to the eighth-note motive in the last section of
Scene Two.
The second section consists of the horns presenting a unison melody while the previous
hexachord is repeated at one measure intervals with the tenor drum response. The pitch content
of the melody is not made up of a strict tone row, but rather a freely composed melody with D-
flat an important structural pitch. The melody begins on D-flat, and comes to rest on the same
pitch in m. 191 on a strong beat half note before moving into the next phrase.
In the third section the horns continue in a more elaborate version of the melody in
unison. Trumpets are added to the brass hexachord while flutes, clarinets, and bassoons play the
same hexachord in response. Chimes are also added, playing quarter notes C and F-sharp on beat
four of every second bar beginning in m. 193, which coincide with the woodwind entrances.
The accompanimental chords begin to change as pitches are added in successive
statements. In mm. 195–96 A is added in trombone 1, trumpet 1 and flutes 1 and 2, making the
septachord {B-flat, F, C, D, E, G, A}. In mm. 196–97 the E is replaced by E-flat, the D replaced
by D-flat, A replaced by A-flat, and C-flat is added to make the octachord {B-flat, F, C, E-flat,
D-flat, A-flat, G-flat, C-flat}. The chord in mm. 198–99 consists of every pitch except A-flat.
50
Example 28: Scenes Revisited, mm. 170–99 chord reductions
m. 170: m. 192: mm. 195-96 mm. 196-97 mm. 198-99 hexachord trumpets join septachord octachord
The tessitura of the instruments also increases as the dynamic builds toward the climax in mm.
204–5. All winds except oboes 3 and 4, clarinets 5 and 6, bassoons, trombone 4, euphonium and tuba are gradually scored higher up to that point. This climax chord contains every pitch except
A and A-flat. The texture thins and the dynamic decreases until only the horns remain playing the melody accompanied by tenor drum, timpani, and bass drum rolls at pianissimo.
The final section consists of a six measure coda, in which the horns sustain the pitch that began the scene, D-flat, while three statements of a chord by the rest of the winds occur in two measure segments. This chord, played in mm. 212–13 then repeated twice, contains the same pitch content as the opening chord of the piece. It is scored similarly except for horns, trumpets
2–6, and bassoons, which have different pitches. Percussion scoring includes timpani, large snare drum, tenor drum, and bass drum rolls that crescendo to fortissimo while crash cymbals play on
each entrance of the wind chords.
51 Scene Four, mm. 218–46
Measures Description 218–21 Introduction: percussion fade; indeterminate figures in clarinet, trills in horns 222–39 Tuba and muted trumpet melody in canon 240–46 Coda: static B-flat in melody followed by trills in trumpets
Reynolds continued the technique of call-and-response to create the melody of Scene
Four, which consists entirely of short fragments stated first by tuba then echoed by trumpets 3–6
with whispa mutes transposed up three octaves, beginning at m. 222. The repeat in the trumpets
usually deviates rhythmically as well as in its placement within the bar lines. The texture is
homophonic, with accompaniment provided by pianissimo aleatoric clarinet figures, pianissimo
trills played by muted horns, and piano rolls in bass drum and Tam-tam. Harmonically there is little basis, due to muted horn trills consisting of D, D-sharp, E, F-sharp, G-sharp, B providing
the only chordal accompaniment. The pitch content of the melody is as follows:
Example 29: Scenes Revisited, Scene Four melodic reduction
While not based on a tone row, Reynolds used serial methods to create the melody. The first and
fourth measures are a transposition at the major second and the second and third measures are an
inversion and transposition at the minor sixth. The last two pitches center on the final pitch,
B-flat, and serve as the resting point harmonically of the section, before it is obscured by
trumpets changing pitches to add A, G, B, and C-sharp in mm. 244–46 and adding trills.
52 Scene Five, mm.247–286
Measures Description 247–58 Trumpet sextuplet melody ending with aleatoric trill figures 259–69 French horn sextuplet melody ending with aleatoric sextuplet figures 270–77 Low brass sextuplet melody in canon 278–86 Coda and transition into final scene: sextuplets and arpeggiated quarter notes
The entire scene is based on a fanfare-like sextuplet figure played by the brass. In the first
section the trumpet statements of the motive are paired in canon, playing at different pitch levels.
Trumpets 1 and 2 play the motive one measure apart. Trumpets 3 and 4 enter in the fourth
measure of the section, playing in canon two beats apart. Trumpets 5 and 6 enter in the sixth
measure of the section, also playing in canon two beats apart. This dense polyphony continues to
m. 256 where the original motive is replaced by an arpeggiated sextuplet figure played in canon
at the eighth note at the interval of a minor second. In mm. 256–57 the trumpets continue with a
trill on the following pitches: F-sharp, G-sharp, A, B, C-sharp, D, while indeterminately playing
a 32nd note a tritone above the primary trill pitch (see Example 20). This aleatoric figure
continues through the next section and ends at m. 270.
The second section consists of a horn statement of the original sextuplet motive. At the beginning of the statement they are play unison for mm. 259–60. At the third bar of the phrase they play in pairs but this time each pair plays unison pitches in the following pairings: horns 1 and 2, horns 3 and 4, and horns 5 and 6. Each pair plays m. 261 in canon, and beginning in m.
262 the entire section remains in rhythmic unison through m. 267. Like the trumpets in the previous section, they end with an aleatoric figure, this one a repeated set of the same set of nineteen pitches in sixteenth-note sextuplets to be repeated freely and beginning in mm. 268–69 in canon at the eighth note (see Example 21).
53 Section three consists of the low brass statement of the sextuplet motive. Harmonically this is the least dense of the sections, as it consists almost entirely of only two different pitch levels. There are two groups of three instruments: trombones 1–3 and trombone 4, euphonium, tuba. The former group begins the statement of the motive in m. 270 and is followed in canon at the dotted half-note by the latter group a tritone plus one octave lower. These two groups continue in canon of various lengths of half note and quarter note. The harmonic density intensifies in mm. 275–76 when the first group splits into the pitches B, E, B-flat, while the second group splits into A-flat, D-flat, G.
The fourth and final section acts as a coda to the scene and transition into Scene Six.
Beginning in m. 279 the rhythm becomes unison and consists of alternating sextuplets with arpeggiated ascending quarter notes. Woodwinds play trills instead of the sextuplets. The intervallic content of the quarter notes consists of tritones and semitones. Percussion enters with quarter note rolls alternating with sixteenth-note sextuplet rolls, beginning with small snare drum in m. 280, then tenor drum in m. 282, bass drum in m. 285, and finally timpani in m. 287, whose pitches consist of C, F-sharp, G. This percussion accompaniment continues into and through the next scene.
The texture of Scene Five is polyphonic, created through juxtaposition of the various motivic statements in canon. Further textural density is added in the second and third sections with the aleatoric passages for trumpets and horns, respectively. The change to a more monophonic texture in m. 279 creates striking contrast and adds to the climax of this scene along with the increasing orchestration and ascending register.
54 Scene Six, mm. 287–327
Measures Description 287–95 Trumpet P10 row, percussion only accompaniment 296–303 Trumpet P11 row, add French horn accompaniment 304–11 Trumpet P0 row, add trombone accompaniment 312–19 Trumpet P1 row, add woodwind accompaniment 320–27 Trumpet P2 row, add tuba accompaniment
Reynolds has described this final scene as “the sequential presentation of a tone row – here by the trumpet section – over an increasingly aleatoric background.”29 Each successive
statement of the row is transposed up a semitone, where the last pitch becomes the first pitch of
the next statement. There are five statements of the row, in equal sections of eight measures each
(see example 15). Reynolds utilized terraced dynamics throughout the scene to also build
intensity.
Section one consists of the tone row presented at the P10 level in mezzo-piano,
accompanied only by the percussion mentioned above at piano. In section two the horns are
added playing a collection of the same twenty-four sixteenth note pitches in canon at the quarter
note and repeated freely. The trumpet dynamic increases to mezzo-forte and the accompaniment
increases to mezzo-piano. In section three horns 1–3 change to an unmeasured collection of
twelve slurred pitches in the range of D-flat5 to D4, while the trombones enter with a truncated
version of the original horn material in canon at the quarter note and repeated freely. The trumpet
dynamic increases to forte and the accompaniment to mezzo-forte. In section four, oboes enter in
canon at the quarter note playing an F-sharp trill whole note to a sixteenth note C, a tritone
above. Flutes enter playing a sextuplet figure followed by a whole note trill that is a semitone
apart. Clarinets and soprano saxophone enter with an unmeasured collection of pitches in canon
at the quarter note. Horns 4–6 change to play the motive performed by horns 1–3, while the latter
29 Ibid.
55 changes to a different unmeasured collection of pitches, ranging from D4 to E5. Trombones 1
and 2 change to an increasing repeated note figure, consisting of G-sharp and D, respectively.
The trumpet dynamic increases to piu forte and wind accompaniment to forte. In section five, piccolos enter two beats apart playing the same figure as flutes 1 and 2. Alto saxophone enters playing the same figure as horns 1 and 2 from the previous section. Bassoons, tenor saxophone and baritone saxophone enter playing a sustained E-flat2. Euphonium and tuba enter playing repeated notes of increasing speed on pitches A2 and E-flat 2, respectively. All wind dynamics are at fortissimo and percussion dynamic is at piu forte.
Coda, mm. 328–38
The coda begins with the trumpet section playing the last note of the final statement of the P2 row in m. 328, and dotted half note E-flat. The percussion accompaniment changes in this measure as well. Small snare drum, tenor drum and bass drum change from the alternating pattern played previously to sextuplets exclusively. This rhythm continues through to the end of the piece. In m. 329 the trumpets drop out and are replaced by the horn, trombone, euphonium and tuba aleatoric patterns they previously played and woodwind dotted half note trills.
Percussion includes the addition of timpani playing sixteenth note sextuplets as well as a Tam-
tam strike on the downbeat. All dynamics are fortissimo. In m. 330 the trumpets re-enter with a
unison E-flat dotted half note and are joined by horns playing the same pitch in octaves. This is
again interrupted in m. 331 by the exact same material from m. 329. The final unison E-flat
dotted half note is played by all brass, saxophones, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons in m. 332. The
last six measures of the piece consist of a measured version of the opening chord with slight
orchestration variations lasting a total of twenty-six beats. These differences occur in oboes,
56 clarinets, bassoons, and trumpets 1 and 2. The chord begins at piano and crescendos to fortissimo in the final bar, where all instruments of the ensemble release together.
57 CHAPTER 4
LAST SCENES
Overview
Composition Circumstances
Last Scenes was composed for Donald Hunsberger and the Eastman Wind Ensemble in
1979, and was premiered the following year with Verne Reynolds as horn soloist.30 Like Scenes, it was not a commission by the ensemble, but rather a concerto that Reynolds had written for himself to play with the wind ensemble. Thus, there were no stipulations as to the length, instrumentation, or difficulty of the work.31
Instrumentation
Reynolds uses an orchestral wind section with piano and percussion for Last Scenes.
Interestingly, Reynolds chose not to use bassoons in the ensemble, which had been featured
prominently in Scenes Revisited. The triple wind instrumentation is as follows:
3 Flutes 4 Percussion: Snare drum 2 Oboes Tenor drum English horn Bass drum 3 Clarinets in B-flat Tam-tam 4 French horns Vibraphone 3 Trumpets in C Chimes 3 Trombones Marimba Tuba Xylophone Piano Bells Timpani Wood block Temple blocks Claves Bongos
30 Evan Feldman and Donald Hunsberger, liner notes from Eastman Wind Ensemble at 50, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Warner Brothers Publications, DH001CD.
31 Donald Hunsberger, interview by author, compact disc recording, Cincinnati, Ohio, 26 April 2006.
58 Form
Scene Measures Tempo Description 1 1–54 = 46 “Recitative”: free rhythmic feel in solo horn and offstage English horn; static accompaniment
2 55–92 = 60 – 66 “Aria”: solo horn more rhythmically structured; accompaniment more active
3 93–199 = 132 “Fast section”
4 200–21 = 46 “Closing set of calls”: solo horn and offstage English horn
Reynolds states “Last Scenes is divided into four episodes: an opening recitative, an aria, a fast section, and a closing set of calls.”32
Pitch analysis
12-tone Rows and their Manipulations
Verne Reynolds divided his compositional style into three periods: his early compositions were influenced by Hindemith, and in the late 1960s and early 1970s he “became a twelve- toner.” Beginning in the middle 1970s, he has combined many different techniques appropriate
to the composition.33 This characterization is realized in Last Scenes as there are very few
occurrences of complete 12-tone rows in the work.
The one occurrence of 12-tone rows is in Scene Three in mm. 160–80. Each clarinet
presents a different row followed by successive transpositions of the row. This process is
repeated a different number of times for each part since they are playing at different rhythmic
speeds.
32 Feldman and Hunsberger.
33 Lowe, 29.
59 Example 30: Last Scenes, P10 row
Clarinet 1 – quarter note quintuplets; interval of transposition one whole tone
{T 4 5 0 3 2 7 1 E 8 9 6} {0 6 7 2 5 4 9 3 1 T E 8} {2 8 9 4 7 6 E 5 3 0 1 T} {4 T E 6 9 8 1 7 5 2 3 0} (error here, there is a written C instead of a written D)34 {6 0 1 8 E T 3 9 7 4 5 2} {8 2 3 T 1 0 5 E 9 6 7 4} {T 4 5 0 3 2 7 1 E 8 9 6}(Repeat of original row) {0 6 7 2 5 4 9 3 1 T E} (incomplete, eleven notes only)
Clarinet 2 – quarter notes; interval of transposition one semitone
{1 T 0 6 5 2 3 E 4 9 7 8} {2 E 1 7 6 3 4 0 5 T 8 9} {3 0 2 8 7 4 5 1 6 E 9 T} {4 1 3 9 8 5 6 2 7 0 T E} {5 2 4 T 9 6 7 3 8 1 E 0} {6 3 5 E T 7 8 4 9 2 0 1} {7 4 6 0 E 8 9 5 T} (incomplete row, nine notes only)
Clarinet 3 – quarter note triplets; interval of transposition one whole tone
{2 5 T 1 4 8 7 0 (E) 9 6 3} (First row, note “missing”) {4 7 0 3 6 T 9 2 1 E 8 5} {6 9 2 5 8 0 E 4 3 1 T 7} {8 E 4 7 T 2 1 6 5 3 0 9} {T 1 6 9 0 4 3 8 7 5 2 E} {0 3 8 E 2 6 5 T 9 7 4 1}
34 There is an error on the last note of the P4 row, perhaps due to instrument transposition, because the row should end on a sounding C instead of a written C, which is what appears. This error then perpetuates into the remaining rows, with each pitch written one whole step too low. The existence of this error, while unfortunate, demonstrates that Reynolds was indeed composing in terms of transposing each tone from the previous row statement up one whole step.
60 {2 5 T 1 4 8 7 0 E 9 6 3}(Repeat of first four rows) {4 7 0 3 6 T 9 2 1 E 8 5} {6 9 2 5 8 0 E 4 3 1 T 7} {8 E 4 7 T 2 1 6 5 3 0 9} {T 1 6 9 0 4 (incomplete, only 6 notes)
Pitch centricity
The pitch C-sharp is important structurally throughout Last Scenes. The solo horn part leads up to this pitch in mm. 1–3 by way of a whole tone followed by a semitone, acting in a leading-tone function. In mm. 43–44 the offstage English horn solo ends with a repeated figure
that ends on D-flat, which leads into the next section. After a cluster chord played by the entire
ensemble the solo horn then begins again in m. 55 with a D-flat to start Scene Two. This scene
features three statements of the horn aria melody, with the solo horn playing the first and third while trumpet 1 plays the second. Both the first and third statements begin on D-flat. The climax of Scene Two occurs in m. 84, with a mezzo piano chord played by the entire wind section. The bass note of this chord is C-sharp. Scene Two ends with a repetition of the solo horn thirty- second note figure in mm. 89–92, but is transposed to end on a D-flat, which is sustained into
Scene Three. At the beginning of Scene Three, the solo horn plays repeated C-sharp sixteenth notes. The climax of the second phrase of Scene Three in mm. 133–34 is punctuated by a tutti rhythm in the winds whose bass note is again C-sharp by way of a half step up from C. The beginning of the last phrase of Scene Three, woodwinds and horns play an inverse pedal of C- sharp in m. 181 with trombone 1 joining for the second iteration in m. 183, and trumpets 1 and 2 adding in the third iteration in m. 187. Clarinets continue to sustain a C-sharp into Scene Four and through the end of the piece.
61 Stylistic elements
Improvisatory sections
The influence of bebop jazz is apparent in Last Scenes but on a small scale. The trumpets have freely chromatic unison sixteenth note passages with no obvious pitch center in mm. 129–
33 imitating this style. Flute 1 and clarinet 1 continue this imitation in truncated form in mm.
136–40. Trumpets continue in mm. 141–42 with cup mutes, a timbre often associated with jazz.
A final jazz-like statement similar to the passages above is presented by flutes, oboes, and clarinets at the end of this section in mm. 142–45.
Example 31: Last Scenes, mm. 142–45; flutes, oboes, clarinets
Aleatory
Reynolds’s use of aleatory is minimal in Last Scenes and is relegated to percussion and
piano. In mm. 4–5 vibraphone and chimes are instructed to improvise rapidly using notes
between specified pitches, F3 to E-flat4 and C4 to B-flat4, respectively. The only other indeterminate composition is in piano, where the performer is required to perform a “rapid tremolo with palms of hands on lower strings” both near the beginning of the piece in mm. 14–
27 and at the end in mm. 196 to the end of the work. In both of these instances, the piano is acting as a soft bed of sound along with tremolos in the other percussion instruments.
62 Orchestration
Reynolds expresses interest in exploring different timbres within certain sections. He
requires the pianist to depress strings in the piano with the right hand while playing keys with the left hand, perform tremolos on the strings with the hands as well as “rap knuckles on metal frame inside piano.”35 These piano timbres are used in both the quiet introduction and conclusion of
the work. Trumpets and trombones both have passages for cup mutes and tuba is muted as well
in mm. 140–54. These mutes coincide with the jazz-like section in mm. 129–40 in order to
imitate that style and sound.
Solo horn part
As a professional hornist, Reynolds had firsthand knowledge of how to compose for the instrument. His 48 Etudes is renowned as a standard, complex, advanced volume of technical studies. He uses the full range of tessitura, dynamics, timbres, and expression for the solo part in
Last Scenes. The range of this part is from sounding F2 to E-flat5, almost three full octaves. The
dynamic range of the horn is also exploited, as the soloist is required to play delicate
unaccompanied passages at piano and above thickening textures at fortissimo. Stopped horn is
used in m. 88 as a transition into the offstage English horn timbre. The soloist also must play in a
variety of styles, from very free recitative-like passages, to lyrical lines and very articulate
staccato passages. The atonal nature of the writing also makes the part very difficult, and is a
reflection of the type of writing found in his 48 Etudes.
35 Reynolds, Scenes, 1.
63 Descriptive analysis
Scene One, mm. 1–54
Measures Description 1–33 Opening solo French horn recitative 34–44 Offstage English horn response 44–54 Wall-of-sound chord and fade
The opening horn solo section is divided into three phrases, mm. 1–12, mm. 13–27, and mm. 28–33. The first phrase is in two equal parts of six measures each, and both begin with similar fragments: two whole notes (B-flat, C) followed by a dotted half note (C-sharp and B, respectively). Both of these fragments are unaccompanied, and both lead into a sustained pitch that is accompanied by percussion, including vibraphone, chimes, Tam-tam and piano the first time, with clarinets and horns added the second time. The percussion scoring features rolled chords in marimba, while vibraphone and chimes improvise rapidly between specified pitches at piano. The pianist is asked to press down the two lowest strings and play the keys with the other hand. This creates a mysterious bed of sound in the opening six measures. In the second statement (mm. 10–12) the vibraphone outlines each of the horn and clarinet entrances in eighth notes, as they enter with sustained trills at pianissimo. The chimes and marimba play rolled chords, and the piano is played by rapping the knuckles on the metal frame inside it.
The second phrase (mm. 13–27) features the solo horn playing a much more rhythmically active theme, whose freedom is akin to a recitative. The horn begins a thirty-second note motive of a perfect fifth leap followed by a half step. This motive returns altered in mm. 19–20, and is developed by the English horn in the next section.
64 Example 32: Last Scenes; solo horn
mm. 12-14 mm. 19-21 The only accompaniment is rolled bass drum and Tam-tam at piano, piano tremolos played on the strings with the hands, and two chime entrances of the dyad C-sharp, G in m. 20 and 22.
The final phrase (mm. 28–33) consists of perfect fifth leaps of an eighth note anacrusis to a whole note, followed by a half step down to a dotted half note. This is presented three times, the first and third times with the pitches B-flat, F, E and the second time with G-flat, D-flat, D.
Example 33: Last Scenes, mm.28–33; solo horn
The second section (mm.34–44) consists entirely of an unaccompanied offstage English horn solo that develops the thirty-second note motive presented by the solo horn.
Example 34: Last Scenes, mm. 33–39; English horn
The solo ends on C-sharp as it moves into the third and final section. This last section of Scene
One represents the climax, where a cluster chord is played by the entire ensemble in staggered entrances. The climax begins with the rolled Tam-tam in m. 43, while percussion continues to enter in mm. 44–45. Bass drum and timpani play unmeasured rolls while tenor and snare drum
65 play single stroke rolls to match each other. The chord consists of every pitch except B and E, and is voiced as follows:
Example 35: Last Scenes, mm. 48–51 reduction
The climax of Scene One occurs in m. 50 with the loudest presentation of the chord, followed by
a diminuendo and staggered releases of the chord by the ensemble.
Scene Two, mm. 55–92
Scene Two encompasses the aria of the work, and is divided into three sections.
Measures Description 55–66 Solo French horn statement of aria 67–78 Trumpet response 78–92 Poco agitato horn statement, English horn response as transition
The homophonic texture introduced in Scene One continues into this scene, with the solo
horn, trumpet 1, and offstage English horn playing the melodic material. The form of this scene
is modified ABA’ with a coda. The first section begins with a two-bar introduction by the solo
horn, playing the pitches D-flat and E-flat. The following ten-measure phrase uses all twelve
pitches, although not serially. The climax of the phrase occurs in the fifth bar on a whole note B-
flat at mezzo forte. The melody ends with the same motive from mm. 55–56, but is transposed
down a major second. The accompaniment during this phrase is static, with sustained pitches in
woodwinds and brass that enter within families. The harmony is based on open intervals of
66 perfect fourths and fifths in the brass, and smaller intervals of tritones, seconds, and thirds in the woodwinds. The bass pitch at the beginning of the phrase is D, and after passing through B-flat and B ends with the leading tone C-sharp to C for the second phrase. Percussion accompaniment includes isolated bass drum and timpani quarter notes and low piano cluster chords played together beginning at every third bar, then every other bar. Chimes play the interval of a tritone
(C-sharp–G) in every successive bar after each bass drum note. Bells then follow each chime entrance playing perfect fifths of F-sharp–C-sharp, B-flat–F, D–A, and B–F-sharp, respectively, except at the end of the phrase, where chimes, bass drum, timpani, and piano play together in m.
67.
The second section begins in m. 67 with the melody in trumpet 1. Three successive ascending statements with increasingly higher arrival points characterize the first half of the melody. Each two-measure fragment ends on a longer pitch of E, F-sharp, and finally A to B-flat which is the climax of the phrase. The accompaniment is also fullest at this point. The second half of the section, mm. 74–78, is characterized by slower rhythms in the trumpet, ending with an altered motive from the first phrase of a falling minor second followed by a falling minor third.
Accompaniment continues in much the same manner as the first phrase, but the texture is thicker
as more voices in the woodwinds and brass are playing simultaneously.
The third section of Scene Two returns melodically to the solo horn, and the melody
begins with the same two pitches as found in the first section. The horn part is marked poco
agitato and is an elaboration on the first phrase, with sixteenth notes a common occurrence
between both low and high points of the register. The static accompaniment in the woodwinds
and brass is now played simultaneously, with tutti eighth notes at the ends for punctuation. The
67 climax of the phrase occurs in m. 84 with the solo horn D at forte and the fullest accompaniment
to this point which includes the entire woodwind and brass section.
The coda section of Scene Two begins in m. 86 with a version of the thirty-second note
motive first presented by the solo horn in m. 13 and later echoed by the offstage English horn.
This time it is at the pitch level of D-flat, B-flat, D-flat in mm. 87–88. Muted trumpet 1 echoes
these statements within the same two measures. The final statement at this pitch level is made by
stopped solo horn in m. 88. Offstage English horn then plays the motive transposed up a perfect
fifth to end on the pitch D-flat. This pitch is reinforced in the final bar of the scene in solo horn
and bells, and becomes the pitch center for the beginning of Scene Three.
Scene Three (mm. 93–199)
Measures Description 93–104 Introduction, repeated sixteenth notes 105–34 Variation in solo horn 135–55 Atonal jazz section 156–80 Lyrical solo horn, build to climax 181–99 Climax section, diminuendo
In the opening section of Scene Three the solo horn establishes a repeated sixteenth note
motive that becomes the basis for much of the subsequent melodic content. It begins with a
repeated C-sharp in m. 93 and again in m. 95. Xylophone imitates the horn, playing a repeated G in the same rhythm. After this repetition the solo horn deviates in pitch and is imitated by the xylophone.
68 Example 36: Last Scenes, mm. 93–99; solo horn and xylophone
The horn then finishes the phrase unaccompanied, playing variations on these two motives of repeated and changing notes. Temple blocks, wood block, claves, and xylophone provide an energetic punctuation near the end of the phrase in mm. 102–3 and, with the addition of a sustained fortissimo chord in the woodwinds and brass in mm. 103–4, transition into the next section.
A four-measure introduction begins the second section at m. 105, with alternating sixteenth note minor seconds played by the clarinets in staggered entrances. Syncopated figures in the claves and temple blocks in the last two measures of the introduction forecast the upcoming horn entrance in m. 109. The solo horn begins with an imitation of this syncopated motive, then returns to the repeated sixteenth note motive in an alternating dialogue with the xylophone.
Example 37: Last Scenes, mm. 106–9; solo horn and percussion
69 A two-measure interlude in mm. 115–16 establishes the repeated sixteenth note motor in bongos and temple blocks. The closing solo horn line of this section begins in m. 117, with a variation of the syncopated material from earlier that alternates with the repeated sixteenth notes. The final eight measures of this phrase (mm. 122–29) are marked by the ending of the percussion motor that gives way to isolated eighth notes, creating composite rhythms and allowing the solo horn to come through in the first two bars of the phrase. The horn then imitates the composite rhythms of the percussion in mm. 124–29, where it gives way to the closing phrase of the second section.
Example 38: Last Scenes, mm.121–28; solo horn and percussion
This final phrase (mm. 129–34) features syncopated sustained chords in the woodwinds and brass, with trumpets playing atonal jazz-like sixteenth note runs during the sustained parts.
70 The final two bars of this phrase feature a strong tutti syncopated rhythm in the woodwinds and brass with percussion and piano punctuating the gaps.
The third section of Scene Three is divided into two phrases: mm. 135–45 and mm. 146–
55. The first phrase features Reynolds’s atonal jazz style of composition, in which chromatic sixteenth note riffs are played by soloists and sections with syncopated accompaniment. Flute 1 is the first to play one of these riffs in mm. 137–39, followed by clarinet 1 in mm. 139–40.
Trumpets and trombones play with cup mutes in mm. 141–42. The syncopated accompaniment by the low brass with the solo riffs played by trumpets gives the unmistakable sound of jazz. All brass play a syncopated figure to end the phrase in mm. 143–45, with woodwinds playing a tutti riff in m. 145 to lead into the next solo horn phrase. The second phrase of this section shows a return of the horn solo alternating between segmented syncopations and repeated sixteenth notes, echoed by the brass and percussion.
In the fourth section of Scene Three, Reynolds abandons the syncopated style and favors a more lyrical one that leads to the climax of the final section. The first phrase (mm. 156–63) is marked by a legato line in the solo horn and sustained chords in the brass at piano. The percussion drops out entirely after the final punctuation of the previous phrase in m. 156. The brass accompaniment then makes a diminuendo into sustained chords in the flutes and horns 3 and 4, with clarinets beginning a serialized murmur at different rhythmic levels.
The second phrase of this section (mm. 164–80) is divided into three lyrical statements in the solo horn. These three statements have very similar contours, rhythms, and intervallic content, but are not strictly serialized. Each statement begins one whole tone higher than the previous one and generally is higher in range while increasing in dynamic. The accompaniment
71 also becomes more active, as more voices are added in oboes, horns, and percussion and dynamics increase in intensity.
The fifth and final section of Scene Three occurs in mm. 181–99 and serves as the climax to this scene as well as the entire piece. A tutti C-sharp is played three times. The first statement is played by woodwinds, horns, and bells at m. 181. Brass obscure this pitch with a dissonant chord on beat four tied across the bar, then play a second chord on beat four of m. 182. The second statement of C-sharp occurs on the downbeat of m. 184, this time played by woodwinds, horns, trumpet 3 and trombones 1 and 2. This pitch is again obscured in the same manner as the first statement, with brass playing an altered chord in the same rhythm as before. The final C- sharp statement occurs in m. 187 by the same group as before with the addition of trumpet 2.
This is also the longest statement, which encompasses mm. 187–92. The woodwinds continue to sustain the C-sharp throughout these measures with a register change in the clarinets in m. 190.
The brass interrupt as before, but this time the rhythm is slightly altered so that the second chord is delayed to the following downbeat (m. 189) and there is a third chord added on beat four of m.
190 played by all brass except trumpets. Percussion accompaniment includes rolls in the tenor drum, timpani and bass drum with the first playing occasional roughs off of the brass chord changes. Chimes and bells “improvise rapidly” at fortissimo and the piano plays low clusters in conjunction with the bass drum accented half notes.36 A fast diminuendo occurs in mm. 191–92 to lead into the final scene.
36 Verne Reynolds, Last Scenes, 18.
72 Scene Four (mm. 200–21)
Measures Description 200–209 Solo horn call, offstage English horn echo 210–21 Final horn call
This “closing set of calls” provides the conclusion to the work.37 The sustained notes of
the horns and low brass fade in the opening measures and give way to a sustained C-sharp by the
clarinets. A rumble in the percussion begins at m. 196 consisting of the pianist playing the low strings with the palms, a rolled B in the bells, and a rolled dyad C-sharp–G in the chimes that continues through the end of the piece. The solo horn enters with the call motive from Scene
One, emphasizing C-sharp. Offstage English horn echoes this phrase in mm. 204–10, with the opening motive transposed up a minor second, with the phrase ending back in D-flat.
The final phrase of the piece consists of three statements by the solo horn of the motive from mm. 28–34, with offstage English horn echoing the first two. The pitch content is altered this time, so that the first statement at m. 210 is B-flat, F, D with the echo in English horn at G- flat, D-flat, C. The second statement is a repeat of the first in the solo horn, with English horn echoing the same exact motive. The final statement of the solo horn is a repeat of the first
English horn motive, G-flat, D-flat, C, with the final note in the horn a minor second away from the sustained pitch C-sharp in clarinets 2 and 3.
37 Feldman and Hunsberger.
73 Chapter 5
COMPARISON OF THE THREE WORKS
Instrumentation
Each piece of the Scenes trilogy has a different instrumentation as well as a different
number of players. Scenes and Last Scenes are written for a large orchestral wind section with
piano and percussion, with the latter omitting bassoons. Scenes Revisited is the only piece of the
three works that uses saxophones and euphonium in closer keeping with a more traditional concert band instrumentation. H. Robert Reynolds, who commissioned the piece, states, “I only said that I would like to include saxophones and euphonium because Michigan had (has) such a great saxophone studio and such good euphoniums.”38
The other differences reside primarily in the number of instruments. Scenes Revisited has
the largest number at forty-three, partially due to the added saxophones and euphonium, but also to the numbers of other instruments. There are twice as many B-flat clarinets as the other two works, more French horns and trumpets (six each), and one more trombone. Missing is the piano that appears in the other works. This larger number not only gives Reynolds the volume needed in the opening and closing sections of the work, but also allows him to build complex, dense textures in the aleatoric sections. By contrast, Last Scenes is the smallest in instrumentation, appropriate in its function as soloist accompaniment. Reynolds was extremely consistent with his use of percussion, and it is a prominent section in the pieces. All three works have exactly
fourteen percussion instruments, including timpani. There is only one changed instrument in
Scenes and Scenes Revisited, and two changed instruments in Last Scenes (Appendix A).
38 H. Robert Reynolds, “Scenes Revisited information.”
74 Formal characteristics
All three pieces are formally based on juxtaposition of contrasting sections to create the
various scenes. For Scenes Reynolds states that, “the main intent of the piece is to provide
‘scenes’ or settings in which these instruments can most effectively make use of their colors,
techniques and expressive qualities.”39 This overall formal scheme applies to all three works.
Reynolds further describes some of the types of settings in Scenes Revisited, stating, “other
devices typical of Reynolds’s writing, and reminiscent of Scenes, are the long section[s] of very
slow, ‘scorched earth’ music, rapid woodwind figuration, and the sequential presentation of a
tone row – here by the trumpet section – over an increasingly dense aleatoric background.”40
From these two statements it is apparent that Reynolds composed similar types of sections among these works.
Scene Two in both Scenes and Scenes Revisited represent the atonal jazz sections of each work, and Reynolds used similar orchestration, rhythmic, and melodic devices in both. Scene
Three in Scenes and Scene Eight in Scenes Revisited are similar in their construction of successive statements of a tone row over increasing aleatoric accompaniment. In both cases each row is a transposition of the prime row form. In Scenes, the transpositions occur at the intervals
of a tritone, minor third, major third, minor second, and major second, respectively. In Scenes
Revisited each successive entrance of the row is transposed up a minor second for each of the
five statements. Scene Four in both Scenes and Scenes Revisited are similar in orchestration and melodic content as trumpets with whispa mutes play short fragments in long notes in various rhythmic displacements. In the former the accompaniment consists of static chords in the
39 Reynolds, program note for Scenes, for Wind and Percussion.
40 Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, ii.
75 woodwinds and brass while in the latter the accompaniment consists of an aleatoric clarinet figure with sustained trills in the horns, as well as the tuba joining the trumpets in the melody in call-and-response fashion.
Reynolds used primarily tempo, but also orchestration and melodic content to delineate form, since each scene is meant to represent a different mood or character. In most cases there is a clear delineation in the manner of tempo. In Scenes the one exception is between Scenes Four and Five. In this instance, the tempo remains the same but the orchestration and melodic content differ dramatically, changing from the trumpet static melody to the free offstage English horn solo that presents a new tone-row. In Scenes Revisited the exception is Scenes Five and Six where again a dramatic change in orchestration takes place along with the presentation of a new tone-row. The sections of Last Scenes are all clearly delineated by different tempi.
Use of Serialism
Reynolds admits that serialism is only one aspect of the compositional techniques used in these pieces, to the point that he states “its inclusion as one of the compositional procedures should not influence [one’s] interpretive decisions. One hopes that the music exists on its own quite apart from its theoretical aspects.”41 His use of serialism follows his self-description of his style periods, his second period being in the late 1960s and early 1970s when he “became a twelve-toner” and his third period beginning in the middle 1970s where he has combined many different techniques appropriate to the composition.42 This characterization is apparent throughout the three works, as Reynolds’s use of serialism is most strict and abundant in Scenes,
41 Verne Reynolds, letter to Gary Speck November 11, 1989.
42 Lowe, 29.
76 where there are three distinct tone-rows, the last encompassing much of the material for almost
two hundred measures. In Scenes Revisited there are four distinct tone-rows, but their presence is
generally smaller in scale, and once again used the last row in the most obvious and repetitive way. In Last Scenes there is only one complete 12-tone row, the smallest usage in the three
works.
Reynolds used tone rows in creating both melodies and accompaniments. There are two instances of melodic tone rows throughout Scenes. In Scene Three the P0 row is presented in
various transpositions as melody in quarter notes against the aleatoric background (Example 1).
The offstage English horn solo of Scene Five also demonstrates melodic tone row use (Example
3). In Scenes Revisited there are two examples of melodic tone rows: the clarinet and saxophone
interjections in mm. 42–49 of Scene Two, and, more elaborately, in the trumpet melody of Scene
Six, where there are five successive statements of the P10 row in transpositions up a semitone
(Examples 13 and 15). There are three instances where Reynolds used tone rows in an accompanimental manner. In Scenes Revisited the P3 row of Scene One is used in mm. 10–16 in xylophone, chimes, bells, trumpets and French horns is used to create a dense texture of
sixteenth-note quintuplets (Example 9). The P0 row is used in mm. 29–30 of the same work in
the woodwinds to again create a dense texture that leads to a climax and into the next scene
(Example 11). In Last Scenes the P10 row presented by the clarinets in mm. 160–80 in different
rhythmic configurations and transpositions again builds toward the climax of the scene (Example
30). There is one example of Reynolds composing both accompanimental and melodic material
using the same row, which occurs in Scene Six of Scenes. The P1 row that is revealed near the
end of the work in clarinets and French horns is used from the beginning of the scene to
construct the eighth-note triplet motor that runs throughout this final scene (Example 4).
77 Transposition is the main type of traditional row manipulation Reynolds used throughout the Scenes trilogy which he sometimes couples with other treatments. There are several similar instances of ways in which Reynolds manipulated 12-tone rows. In both Scenes Revisited and
Last Scenes he used the technique of subsequent statements of a row form transposed up by a fixed interval each time. This occurs in Scene Six (mm. 287–332) of the former in the trumpet melody and in Scene Three (mm. 160–80) of the latter in the clarinet accompaniment. Despite the fact that one use is melodic while the other accompanimental, this technique occurs in these pieces where there is a building in intensity to the climax of the piece. Another type of row manipulation is building upon the same row through orchestration but starting at a different place in the row for each instrument. Reynolds exploited this technique twice in Scenes Revisited, in mm. 11–16 in French horns and in mm. 29–30 in the woodwinds.
Another type of row treatment is free variation. The offstage English horn solo is one example of this technique. Three phrases are played: the first a strict presentation of the P1 row, the second a free elaboration on that row, and the third beginning as the first phrase but changing at the end for a short coda to end on the beginning pitch for Scene Six. A more truncated example of this technique is in the clarinet and soprano saxophone interjections in mm. 42–49 of
Scenes Revisited. The P10 is presented the first time in mm. 42–43, then repeated in m. 45. In mm. 46–47 he adds repeated notes to extend the phrase, but the motive begins and ends in the same manner (Example 14).
Examining the interval content of the rows that Reynolds used demonstrates similarities in their use for specific purposes as well as trends in his compositional style. Listed below are each of the 12-tone rows used throughout the trilogy, along with their interval vector, showing the number of uses for each interval class within the row.
78 Example 39: Scenes trilogy rows and interval vectors
Scenes Scenes Revisited P0 row P3 row Interval vector: <2 4 1 1 1 2> Interval vector: <2 3 1 2 2 1>
English horn row P0 row Interval vector: <1 4 1 1 1 3> Interval vector: <4 3 0 1 1 2>
Scene Six row Clarinet and saxophone row Interval vector: <3 2 3 1 0 2> Interval vector: <6 1 1 1 0 2>
P10 row Interval vector: <3 1 1 0 3 3>
Last Scenes P10 row
Interval vector: <3 1 3 0 2 2>
In general, most of the rows favor interval classes 1 and 2, so that a large percentage of
the interval content is minor and major seconds. In most cases these two interval classes account for nearly half (five or six occurrences) of the total interval content. This could be another demonstration of Reynolds’s interest in combining tonal with serial methods, in keeping with the
79 more conjunct nature of tonal music. There are three exceptions to this generality. The clarinet
and saxophone row of Scenes Revisited features an extraordinarily unbalanced number of minor
seconds, with six occurrences, and one instance of a major second. This lends itself to the jazz-
like improvisatory solos. The second exception is the trumpet P10 row that makes up the final
scene in the same work. This row’s interval content favors tritones and perfect intervals, making
over half of the total content, with minor seconds accounting for three out of the eleven possible
occurrences. This striking difference toward the more open intervals makes this melody much
bolder in nature, as the climax of the entire work would warrant. A similar tendency toward open
intervals also occurs in the English horn solo row of Scenes, the only other instance of three
perfect intervals. There is an interesting connection with the solo in the same instrument of Last
Scenes where there is a recurring motive of a perfect fifth. The third exception is the row used in
Last Scenes, where there is an equal number of seconds and combined tritones and perfect
intervals (four each). This use is an underlying building of sound in the clarinet accompaniment,
where a more abstract and less tonally-based line is desired.
Pitch centricity is an important element of cohesion through all three works. Both Scenes
and Last Scenes are centered on C-sharp with Scenes Revisited centered on D. These are strong
tones that occur strongly in structurally important places within each work. In Scenes, C-sharp
provides the underpinning of the opening and closing sections with its leading tone C used in the
middle sections (Example 6). In Scenes Revisited Reynolds used an elaborate scheme of strong
bass pitches that in the tonal key of D represent dominant, sub-dominant, sub-mediant and
Neapolitan functions (Example 17). C-sharp returns as the dominant center in Last Scenes,
where it is structurally crucial throughout all sections of the piece.
80 Stylistic Elements
As with serialism, Reynolds’s use of aleatory is strongest in the earliest work and becomes less present in the later works. In Scenes there is an entire section, Scene Three, devoted to elaborate aleatoric music. The entire passage is in free time, with sections having different tempo markings. In Scenes Revisited aleatory is used in Scenes Four, Five, and Six, but always within the same tempo marking. In this case it encompasses the repetition of various motives in a free manner. Aleatory in Last Scenes is minimal, existing only in the soft percussion parts at the beginning of the work, where chimes and vibraphone improvise rapidly on notes between two given pitches.
Reynolds’s influence of what he calls “atonal jazz” in the style of Dizzy Gillespie is an important stylistic aspect to the trilogy.43 One way he creates this style is through composing
passages that sound improvisatory. The following sections represent this style in the trilogy: in
Scenes, the trumpet soli sections in Scene Two (mm. 81–86) and Scene Six (mm. 212–43), as
well as the flute and clarinet solos of Scene Two (mm. 99–115 and 117–33, respectively), in
Scenes Revisited, the clarinet, saxophone, flute, and bassoon soli sections of Scene Two, and in
Last Scenes, the trumpet and woodwind passages in Scene Three (mm. 129–45). These passages
share the characteristics of being highly rhythmic, fast-moving figurations whose melodic
structure is highly chromatic and free-sounding. The trumpets are frequently used in this section,
a further allusion to Dizzy Gillespie and the bebop style.
Reynolds conceived these works to showcase every instrument in the ensemble as a soloist and to display virtuosic technique, as well as display the sheer dynamic capabilities of the
43 Reynolds, Scenes Revisited, ii.
81 ensemble.44 His orchestration choices largely reflect this wish. Each section throughout the
trilogy plays a specific role and every part is crucial to the ensemble. Much of Reynolds’s
orchestration also reflects the atonal jazz influence, as he uses trumpets with various mutes,
percussion instruments associated with jazz such as vibraphones, bongos, and timbales.
Specific orchestration commonalities include the use of offstage English horn in Scenes
and Last Scenes. In the former work, an entire scene is dedicated to this instrument, accompanied
only by softly rolled chimes and Tam-tam. In the latter, it serves as an echo to the horn soloist in
both the beginning and ending of the work, with very similar accompaniment. The use of timpani
playing a constant eighth-note motor occurs in the jazz sections of both Scenes and Scenes
Revisited.
The wall-of-sound chord that opens Scenes Revisited is very similar in voicing and orchestration to the first tutti entrance in Last Scenes that occurs in m. 48 (Examples 27 and 35).
The percussion scoring is exactly the same, with the fast single stroke rolls that snare and tenor drum play, demonstrating that Reynolds clearly desires a recall of this chord in Last Scenes. The only pitch difference is that in Scenes Revisited the chord uses every pitch except E and in Last
Scenes every pitch except E and B.
Conclusion
Verne Reynolds’s distinguished performing, teaching, and composing career is one that deserves great recognition. His posts in major orchestras, including the Cincinnati Symphony and Rochester Philharmonic, as well as the American Woodwind Quintet and Eastman Brass
Quintet demonstrate his outstanding performance capacities. His thirty-six year tenure as
44 Ibid.
82 Professor of Horn at the Eastman School of Music showed his multi-faceted musicianship. As a renowned teacher who was beloved by his students, he guided numerous hornists into major positions in the profession. As an arranger and founding member of the Eastman Brass Quintet, he showed his craft in countless settings for performance with them. As a composer, he used his talents to write works in an array of genres.
Verne Reynolds’s contribution to the wind repertoire is extensive. His compositions and transcriptions for solo wind instruments, wind chamber ensembles, horn ensemble, brass quintet, brass choir and wind ensemble number over one hundred. The totality of these works demonstrate his compositional craft and change in style across his output from his self-assessed
Hindemith-like early works to serialism, to jazz-influenced and multi-stylistic music. They also show his fine ability to compose and transcribe for wind instruments. The Scenes trilogy represents a unique, distinct approach to the wind ensemble that is unmatched in the repertoire.
They not only represent his desire to demand virtuosic playing from every member of the ensemble, but also reflect this development in his compositional style. His craft of combining serialism with more tonal devices, talent for orchestration, and ability to create highly complex music with much stylistic variety and power created these three excellent works for which all wind band conductors, performers, and audiences should be grateful.
83 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Faust, Randall E. “Composer Profile: Verne Reynolds.” Journal of the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors 35 (Spring 1987): 41–42.
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Fennell, Frederick. Liner notes from Piece of Mind: Contemporary Mix, The Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, Kosei Publishing Company, KOCD–3560, 1992.
Forte, Allen. The Structure of Atonal Music. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1973.
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Hunsberger, Donald. Interview by author, 26 April 2006, Cincinnati, Ohio. Compact disc recording.
______. “Repertoire for Wind Conductors.” The Instrumentalist 32 (September 1977): 44–46.
Lowe, Laurence Michael. “A Conversation with Verne Reynolds.” Horn Call 21 (Oct. 1990): 27–32.
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Olson, Robert H. “A Core Repertoire for the Wind Ensemble,” Journal of Band Research 18 (Fall 1982): 11–35.
Ostling Jr., Acton. “An Evaluation of Compositions for Wind Band According to Specific Criteria of Serious Artistic Merit.” Ph.D. diss., University of Iowa, 1978.
Rahn, John. Basic Atonal Theory. New York: Longman, Inc., 1980.
Rehrig, William H. The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music: Composers and Their Music, 3 vols. Edited by Paul E. Bierley. Westerville, Ohio: Integrity Press, 1991–1996.
84 Reynolds, H. Robert. “Scenes Revisited information.” Private e-mail message to author, 15 November 2005.
Reynolds, Verne. 48 Etudes for French horn. New York: G. Schirmer, 1961.
______. Concertare I: for Brass Quintet and Percussion. New York: Carl Fischer, Inc., 1969
______. Concertare III: for Woodwind Quintet and Piano. New York: Carl Fischer, Inc., 1972
______. Graphics: for Trombone and Piano, four-hands. New York: Carl Fischer, Inc., 1977
______. Music for 5 Trumpets. North Easton, Mass: Robert King Music Co., 1964.
______. Program Note: Scenes, for Wind and Percussion.
______. Short Suite: for Horn Quartet. Paris: Robert King Music Co., 1960.
______. Sonata: for Horn and Piano. San Antonio: Southern Music Company, 1971.
______. Suite: for Brass Quintet. New York: MCA Music, 1971.
______. Three Elegies: for Oboe and Piano. New York: MCA Music, 1970.
______. Xenoliths for Flute and Piano, four-hands. Edited by James J. Pellerite. Bloomington: Zalo Publications and Services, Inc., 1979
Slonimsky, Nicolas, ed. Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. 8th ed. New York: Schirmer Books, 1992.
Speck, Frederick A. “An Analysis of Theme and Variations by Verne Reynolds and Annotated Program Notes for Four Compositions Representative of the Sixteenth through Twentieth Centuries.” MM Thesis, Bowling Green State University, 1982.
Speck, Gary A. “Scenes, Verne Reynolds (b. 1926).” In Teaching Music Through Performance in Band, Vol. 3, comp. and ed. Richard Miles, 731–34. Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc., 2000.
Straus, Joseph N. Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory. 3d ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.
Williamson, John E., comp. Rehearsing the Band. Edited by Kenneth L. Neidig. Cloudcroft, New Mexico: Neidig Services, 1998.
Wallace, David and Eugene Corporon. Wind Ensemble/Band Repertoire. Greeley, Colorado: University of Northern Colorado School of Music, 1984.
85 DISCOGRAPHY
Eastman Wind Ensemble. Eastman Wind Ensemble at 50. Donald Hunsberger, conductor. Warner Bros. Publications DH001CD, 2002.
Miami University Wind Ensemble, The. American Music for Wind Ensemble. Gary A. Speck, conductor. Stevens Recorded Performances SRP200002, 1992.
Sam Houston State University Wind Ensemble. 1991 T.M.E.A. All-State Convention/Clinic. Gary Sousa, conductor. Mark Custom Records TMEA91–MCD–2, 1991.
Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, The. Piece of Mind: Contemporary Mix. Frederick Fennell, conductor. Kosei Publishing Company KOCD–3569, 1992.
EDITIONS
Reynolds, Verne. Last Scenes. Verne Reynolds, 1979.
______. Scenes. New York: G. Schirmer, 1974.
______. Scenes Revisited. New York: Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., 2004.
86 APPENDIX A
Scenes Trilogy Instrumentation Boldface type = instruments unique to that piece Scenes (1971) ~ 17 minutes Scenes Revisited (1977) ~ 19 minutes Last Scenes (1979) ~ 12 minutes 4 Flutes (3rd and 4th double piccolo) 4 Flutes (3rd and 4th double piccolo) 3 Flutes 4 Oboes (4th doubles English Horn) 4 Oboes 2 Oboes 3 Bb Clarinets 6 B-flat Clarinets English Horn (offstage) 3 Bassoons 2 Bassoons 3 B-flat Clarinets 5 French horns B-flat Soprano Saxophone 4 French horns 4 Trumpets in B-flat E-flat Alto Saxophone 3 Trumpets in C 3 Trombones B-flat Tenor Saxophone 3 Trombones Tuba E-flat Baritone Saxophone Tuba Piano and Celesta 6 French horns Piano Timpani 6 Trumpets in B-flat Timpani 4 Percussion: 4 Trombones 4 Percussion: Snare Drum Euphonium Snare Drum Tenor Drum Tuba Tenor Drum Bass Drum Timpani Bass Drum Tam-Tam 4 Percussion: Tam-tam Bells Snare Drum Bells Xylophone Tenor Drum Xylophone Chimes Bass Drum Chimes Temple Blocks Tam-tam Temple Blocks Wood Block Bells Wood Block Claves Xylophone Claves Bongos Chimes Bongos Cymbals Temple Blocks Vibraphone Triangle Wood Block Marimba Claves Solo Horn Total: 33 players Bongos Cymbals Total: 27 players
Timbales
Total: 43 players
87 APPENDIX B
Verne Reynolds’s Compositions and Transcriptions for Wind and Percussion Instruments
Compositions for Wind Ensemble
Scenes (1971) G. Schirmer Scenes Revisited (1977) Boosey & Hawkes Last Scenes (1979) Manuscript Concerto for Band (1980) Manuscript Concerto for Piano and Wind Ensemble (1996) Warner Bros. Publications Fragments and Episodes (2004) Manuscript
Compositions for Solo Instruments and Chamber Ensembles
Composition Instrumentation Publisher Theme and Variations (1953) Brass Choir Robert King The Hollow Men (1954) Baritone, Male Chorus, Brass Choir, Manuscript Percussion Serenade for 13 Winds (1958) Chamber Winds (2222-2210) Manuscript Short Suite (1960) Four Horns Robert King 48 Etudes (1961) Horn G. Schirmer Music for Five Trumpets (1962) Five Trumpets Robert King Partita (1964) Horn and Piano Southern Woodwind Quintet (1964) Wind Quintet Manuscript Serenade (1966) Horn and Strings Manuscript Sonata (1968) Tuba and Piano Carl Fischer Sonata (1970) Flute and Piano Carl Fischer Suite (1970) Brass Quintet MCA 48 Etudes (1970) Trumpet G. Schirmer Sonata (1971) Horn and Piano Southern Sonata (1972) Tuba and Piano Carl Fischer Concertare I (1972) Brass Quintet and Percussion Carl Fischer Concertare II (1972) Trumpet and Strings Carl Fischer Concertare III (1972) Woodwind Quintet and Piano Carl Fischer Four Caprices (1973) Clarinet and Piano Southern Three Elegies (1973) Oboe and Piano MCA Signals (1976) Solo Trumpet and Tuba, Brass Choir Trigram Music Concertare IV (1976) Brass Quintet and Piano Carl Fischer Graphics (1977) Trombone and Piano-4 hands Carl Fischer Concertare V (1976) Chamber Ensemble (1111–1110, perc) Carl Fischer Calls (1977) Two Horns Carl Fischer Events (1977) Trombone Choir Carl Fischer Echo Variations (1978) Oboe and Piano Manuscript
88 Cappriccio (1978) Alto Saxophone and Piano Manuscript Trio (1978) Horn, Trombone, Tuba Manuscript Xenoliths (1979) Flute and Piano-4 hands Zalo Fantasy Etudes, Vol. 1 (1979) Trumpet and Piano Manuscript Six Duos (1981) Horn and Trombone Margun Music Trio (1981) Trumpet, Horn, Trombone Margun Music The Sacred Tree (1982) Percussion, Flute, Clarinet, Manuscript Piano-4 hands, Narrator Five Duos (1982) Saxophone and Percussion Manuscript Elegy (1982) Solo Horn Belwin-Mills Fantasy Etudes, Vol. 2 (1983) Bassoon and Percussion Manuscript Hornvibes (1984) Horn and Vibraphone Belwin-Mills Calls and Echoes (1986) Two Trumpets Manuscript Them Bones (1986) Five Trombones Manuscript Quintet (1986) Piano and Winds Manuscript Brass Quintet (1987) Brass Quintet Manuscript Songs of the Seasons (1988) Soprano, Horn, Piano Manuscript Trio (1990) Oboe, Horn, Piano Manuscript Fantasy Etudes, Vol. 3 Euphonium and Piano Manuscript Fantasy Etudes, Vol. 4 (1991) Clarinet, Percussion, and Piano Manuscript Fantasy Etudes, Vol. 5 (1992) Horn and Piano Manuscript Clemson Fanfare (1994) Brass Quintet Manuscript Divertimento (1997) Wind Quintet and Percussion Manuscript Songs and Narrations of Death Soprano, Horn, Piano Manuscript and Remembrance (2000) Trio (2002) Piano, Violin, Horn Manuscript
Transcriptions for Horn
Transcription Instrumentation Publisher Kreutzer: 16 Etudes for Violin Solo Horn G. Schirmer Handel: Third Violin Sonata Horn and Piano Southern Grazioli: Adagio for Violin Horn and Piano Southern Schumann: Robert Schumann Album Horn and Piano G. Schirmer Horn Songs Vol. I, Music of Schubert, Horn and Piano Belwin Mills Liszt, Tschaikowsky and Strauss Horn Songs Vol. II, Music of Schubert, Horn and Piano Belwin Mills Schumann, Liszt, and Strauss Horn Songs Vol. III, Music of Brahms Two Horns and Piano Belwin Mills Horn Songs, Vol. IV, Music of Mozart Three Horns and Piano Manuscript Schenk: Six Sonatas Two Horns MCA Haydn: Six Horn Quartets Four Horns Ludwig Mendelssohn: Four Quartets Four Horns Southern Schubert: Six Quartets Four Horns Southern Schumann: Six Quartets Four Horns Southern
89 Cantos Series 1–4, Four Suites of 8–part Horn Choir Southern Renaissance Music Baban: Voce Mea Ad Dominum 8–part Horn Choir Hornist’s Nest Brahms: Festive and Memorial Music 8–part Horn Choir A–Moll Dur J.L. Bach: Es Danken Dir Gott 9–part Horn Choir A–Moll Dur Cantos V, Music of Franz Schubert 8–part Horn Choir Manuscript Cantos VI, Music of Peter Philips 8–part Horn Choir Manuscript Cantos VII, Music of Felix Mendelssohn 8–part Horn Choir Manuscript Cantos VIII, Music of Hieronymous 8–part Horn Choir Manuscript Praetorius Cantos IX, Music of Giovanni Gabrieli 12–part Horn Choir Manuscript Cantos X, Music of Hieronymous 12–part Horn Choir Manuscript Praetorius Stamitz: Concerto Horn and Winds (2222–2000) Ludwig Cirri: Concerto Horn and Winds (2222–2000) Ludwig
Transcriptions for Other Wind Instruments
Centone Series: Twelve Suites of Brass Quintet Southern Renaissance Music Arban: Carnival of Venice Brass Quintet Manuscript Rossini: Divertimento Brass Quintet Manuscript Mendelssohn: Quartet, Op. 12 Brass Quintet Manuscript Canzonets, Madrigals, Catches and Glees Brass Quartet Manuscript Mendelssohn: Capriccio, Op. 81 Brass Quintet Manuscript Joplin: Heliotrope Bouquet Brass Quintet Manuscript Nick La Rocca: Tiger Rag Brass Quintet Belwin–Mills Foster: Come Where My Love Brass Quintet Manuscript Lies Dreaming Shostakovich: Quartet No. 8 Brass Quintet Manuscript in C Minor, op. 110 Pieter Hellendaal: March Brass Quintet Manuscript William Walond: Voluntary Brass Quintet Manuscript Karl King: Barnum and Bailey’s Favorite Brass Quintet C. L. Barnhouse Christmas Songs from Many Lands Brass Quintet and Narrator Manuscript Geroge Kleinsinger: Tubby the Tuba Brass Quintet and Narrator Manuscript Emanuel Aloys Förster: Quintet, Op. 19 Wind Quintet Southern Beethoven: Kruetzer Sonata Double Wind Quintet Boosey & Hawkes Schubert: Little Symphony Double Wind Quintet Boosey & Hawkes Massenet: Ballet Music from ‘Le Cid’ Wind Ensemble Trigram Music
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