Categories: SOLOS - B♭. Cornet/Trumpet with Piano, Michael Bennett Collection Composer: Michael Bennett
Grade 6 Duration 7.30
The Adagio for trumpet and piano begins with the trumpet playing a Scottish Lament with a minimal of piano accompaniment. This feeling of sparce accompaniment permeats throughout the work.
A short solo on the piano is followed by a new theme in three time. The first three notes of this haunting theme played on the trumpet serve as a leitmotif for the rest of the piece. The piano repeats this waltz - like theme in the higher octave giving the impression of a child’s musical box. The trumpet re-enters with ascending quavers, growing in intensity, which leads to the most exciting part of the piece with the piano having accented octaves in the left hand and dramatic arpeggios in the right. Descending quavers in the trumpet part and the leitmotif being shared by both instruments leads to the waltz theme being played in a slower tempo on the muted trumpet creating a feeling of peacefulness. A short piano solo is then followed by a recapitulation of the Lament before a tierce de picardie draws the work to a close.
Categories: SOLOS - B♭. Cornet/Trumpet with Piano, NEW & RECENT Publications, Michael Bennett Collection Composer: Michael Bennett
Composer and trumpet player Michael Bennett performs the opening section of his lastest work for Bb. Trumpet and Piano - The Declaration of Arbroath.
The composer writes :
I composed this piece for trumpet and piano to celebrate the 700th anniversary of The Declaration of Arbroath, one of Scotland’s most important artefacts. The Declaration is in the form of a letter, in Latin, submitted by the nobles of Scotland to Pope John XXII on 6th April 1320 to confirm Scotland’s status as an independant, sovereign country.
After a short introduction on the piano the trumpet enters with a melody which takes the form of a Scottish Ballad. The accompaniment on the piano is simple chords which grow in intensity as the ballad develops. After the piano repeats the melody in the high register the trumpet enters with a recapitulation of the main theme. The Andante draws to a close with the trumpet being accompanied by simple but effective arpeggios on the piano.
The Allegro Vivo is in the form of a Scottish Jig and is based on the Jacobite song “Oer the Water to Charlie”.The Jig starts in 7/8 and develops through 12/8 and 13/8 giving the feeling of turbulence. After a quiet muted section the Jig returns in its full glory with the trumpeter showing his virtuosity.
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