Pantomime Euphonium Solo Pdf Download
Pantomime is one of the most famous euphonium solos available to the performer today. This versatile solo works great as a program opener (or ender), and is extremely audience friendly. The work is divided into two sections, slow and then fast, and the two are interconnected by a short cadenza. Truly a staple of the repertoire.
Pantomime Euphonium Solo Pdf Download
The euphonium repertoire consists of solo literature and parts in band or, less commonly, orchestral music written for the euphonium. Since its invention in 1843, the euphonium has always had an important role in ensembles, but solo literature was slow to appear, consisting of only a handful of lighter solos until the 1960s. Since then, however, the breadth and depth of the solo euphonium repertoire has increased dramatically.
Upon its invention by Ferdinand Sommer of Weimar, it was clear that the euphonium, compared to its predecessors the serpent and ophicleide, had a wide range and a consistently rich, pleasing sound throughout that range. It was flexible both in tone quality and intonation and could blend well with a variety of ensembles, earning it immediate popularity with composers and conductors as the principal tenor-voiced solo instrument in brass band settings, especially in Britain.[1] When British composers who had written for brass bands began to turn their attention to the concert band in the early twentieth century, they used the euphonium in a very similar role. Gustav Holst, for example, wrote very important solos for the euphonium in his first (1909) and second (1911) suites for band, and similar lyrical solos appear in many pieces from the 1920s and '30s by Percy Grainger and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
When American composers also started writing for the concert band as its own artistic medium in the 1930s and '40s, they continued the British tradition of using the euphonium as one of the principal solo voices. Arnold Schoenberg's Theme and Variations and Samuel Barber's Commando March, both from 1943, have extremely prominent, lyrical solos for euphonium; Robert Russell Bennett's Suite of Old American Dances (1949) has brief solos and very active technical writing, and "When Jesus Wept," the second movement of William Schuman's New England Triptych (1956) is largely a euphonium solo and lyrical duet for euphonium and cornet (arranged by the composer from the orchestral original which features bassoon and oboe). All of these pieces are still in the core repertoire of the concert band today, and these solos comprise the core body of euphonium excerpts.
In many ways, the role of the euphonium in concert band writing has not changed very much in the last several decades; as a solo instrument, it is still as popular with composers as ever, and it still continues in its versatile, jack-of-all-trades role. The influence of the brass band tradition in euphonium writing is evident in the many euphonium solos in both brass band and concert band pieces by British composers Peter Graham, John Golland, Martin Ellerby, Philip Sparke and Gareth Wood [nl]; among contemporary American band composers, Robert W. Smith, David Maslanka, David Gillingham, Eric Whitacre, and James Curnow especially seem to enjoy using the euphonium as a solo instrument. The Gareth Wood concerto can be heard at archive.org.
In contrast to the long-standing practice of extensive euphonium use in wind bands and orchestras, until approximately forty years ago there was literally no body of solo literature written specifically for the euphonium, and euphoniumists were forced to borrow the literature of other instruments. Fortunately, given the instrument's multifaceted capabilities discussed above, solos for many different instruments are easily adaptable to performance on the euphonium.
The most common sources of transcriptions for euphonium are the cornet, vocal, cello, bassoon and trombone repertoires. In each case, one can see the common threads of ease of reading and performance: cello and bassoon both customarily read in bass clef, making them easily adaptable; vocal solos are naturally suited to the singing quality of the euphonium; and in playing cornet solos the euphonist may use the same fingerings that a cornettist would.
Probably the earliest solos played on euphonium were cornet transcriptions, especially variations on popular airs, such as those found at the back of Jean-Baptiste Arban's Complete Method for Cornet. A little later, in the early twentieth century, the American cornettist Herbert L. Clarke wrote a body of virtuosic solos, including Carnival of Venice, Bride of the Waves, and From the Shores of the Mighty Pacific, that were and still are often performed on euphonium. In such cases, no adaptation or arrangement is necessary; a euphoniumist reads the original notation in B-flat treble clef, transposing down a major ninth, and performs the piece exactly as written, merely sounding an octave below the cornet.
The earliest surviving solo composition written specifically for euphonium or one of its saxhorn cousins is the Concerto per Flicorno Basso (1872) by Amilcare Ponchielli. Quite demanding technically, the piece mixes the styles of the Italian opera overture and of the quintessential nineteenth-century theme and variations. Following this, for several decades the only literature written specifically for euphonium was in the same virtuosic technical style as the cornet solos described above. Falling under this category would be Joseph Deluca's Beautiful Colorado (1924), Simone Mantia's Fantasia Originale (1909), and Eduardo Boccalari's Fantasia di Concerto (1906). In the 1930s, many Euphonium solos were released in various band journals, in classic "theme and variations" setting were such classics as, The Song of the Brother (Leizden), Song of Faith (Ball), Ransomed (Marshall), and We'll All Shout Hallelujah (Audoire), as well as many others.
While British composers may have led the way in writing for euphonium in an ensemble setting, it was Americans who wrote the first of the "new school" of serious, artistic solo works written specifically for euphonium. The first two examples are Warner Hutchison's Sonatina (1966) and Donald White's Lyric Suite (1970), after which British composers followed suit with Joseph Horovitz's Concerto (1972, one of the first euphonium concertos) and Gordon Jacob's Fantasia (1973). Two early very difficult works are Samuel Adler's Four Dialogues (for euphonium and marimba, 1974) and Jan Bach's Concert Variations (1978), both premiered by Dr. Brian Bowman. Two of the first unaccompanied solos for euphonium are the Mazurka (1964) by Nicholas Falcone, brother of early euphonium virtuoso Leonard Falcone, and the Sonata (1978) by Fred Clinard Jr. All of these works remain basic repertoire for the euphonium.
Since then, there has been a virtual explosion of solo repertoire for the euphonium; in a mere four decades, the solo literature has expanded from virtually zero to thousands of pieces as more and more composers have become aware of the instrument's soloistic capabilities.
Another segment of the avant-garde solo literature consists of those works for euphonium and recorded accompaniment, going all the way back to 1970, with John Boda's Sonatina for Baritone Horn and Tape. Since then, Neal Corwell, a euphonium performer as well as composer, has contributed many additional solos with synthesized, recorded accompaniment, beginning with Odyssey (1990). On the other hand, British composer Philip Sparke has written numerous euphonium solos (e.g. Pantomime, Song for Ina, Harlequin) of a much lighter nature, though no less technically demanding. Unique works such as the war protest piece One of the Missing (for those lost in Iraq - 2007) have also brought the instrument forward to be used in a more divergent and compelling way.
There is a great lack in chamber music for euphonium (where it is not the exclusive soloist). Diálogo Sonoro ao Luar or "Moonlight Dialogue" for Alto Saxophone and Euphonium is a very unique work written by one of the main 20th c. Brazilian composers Francisco Braga (published in 1946). Besides its unique instrumentation it displays techanical and lyrical qualities of both the modern sax and euphonium at the same time. Although this, in the last years, more authors compose camera music with euphonium. Elaine Fine composed a sonata for euphonium, ranging 2.5 octaves, the Israeli composer, Tamara Hiskia, created several pieces for euphonium which recall pioneer techniques; Rhapsody and Fugue on Classical Themes (2014, 2016) for Trumpet, Horn, Euphonium and Tuba, Variations on a Theme by Paganini (la Campanella) in A Flat Minor (2015) for Euphonium and Piano, Ballade "Genius and Fate" (2015) for Euphonium and Piano, Trio (2014, 2017) for Bb Clarinet, Euphonium or Bassoon and Piano. The ranges in the compositions are between 3 (Ballade) to 4.5 octaves (Trio). All these pieces require high level of technique and musicality.
The use of euphonium as a solo instrument with orchestral accompaniment still remains limited. The earliest known composition of this type is Alan Hovhaness' Concerto No. 3 ("Diran, the Religious Singer") from 1948. Subsequent pieces include Rule Beasley's Concerto (1967), Hovhaness' Symphony No. 29 (1976), and the David Gaines Concerto (1987). Since then, an increasing number of professionally written concerti for euphonium and orchestra have appeared, including those by Jan Bach (1990), Jukka Linkola (1996), Vladimir Cosma (1997), Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen (2000), Alun Hoddinott (2002), Juraj Filas (2003), Uljas Pulkkis (2004), Kevin Hill (2004), John Stevens (2004), Rolf Rudin (2007), Lee Bracegirdle (2007), Tim Jansa (2009), and Karl Jenkins (2009).
In addition, euphoniumists like Lance LaDuke and Matthew Murchison have recently explored and recorded the euphonium in non-traditional performance situations. LaDuke, in his CD Take a Walk, uses euphonium in a variety of quasi-country, comedic song settings as well as in his recording of Sam Pilafian's Relentless Grooves: Armenia, which uses a pre-recorded accompaniment and treats the solo euphonium almost as an Armenian folk instrument. Murchison has released a recording of traditional euphonium repertoire but has also formed, along with his wife and others, the world music group Mainspring, in which, Murchison's website says, "A typical concert may consist of traditional jigs and reels from Scotland and Ireland, beautiful Mexican serenades, sambas, a suite of Spanish folk music, an Armenian lament, entertaining original music, and always plenty of light-hearted fun!"[6]