Cat No. JM49095
Price £10.25
Composer: Cecilia Mcdowell
Category: SOLOS - B♭. Cornet/Trumpet with Piano

Suitable for advanced diploma
This work is destined to become a classic of the repertoire. The contrasting movements are superbly written and result in a substantial and powerful work and a must for all trumpeters.

Includes :
1.Power of Dreams
2.Kirchener's Ear

"...It had a lasting impression on me...a superbly atmospheric piece and leaves the audience, even on first listening, wanting to revisit it again to delve deeper into its many musical facets...the evocative music seemed to strike a chord with all present. Originally written for Paul Archibald and Kathron Sturrock, it is not easy for either trumpet player or pianist, but is very much for the advanced pupil, being as demanding technically as it is musically and requiring a great deal of maturity to perform well. The performer will require a very sound technique and the patience to persevere with its musical shapes and complexities. Having said that, it is a work to watch out for as I have a feeling it will find itself into the mainstream trumpet repertoire before too long - and a welcome arrival it will be....was delighted to see that Brass Wind Publications has continued its support of new works by living composers and taken up the challenge and published it."
Reviewed 'Music Teacher'

The UK premiere performance was given by Paul Archibald and pianist Kathron Sturrock on 28 September, 2002 at the Summer Music Society of Dorset, Minterne.

Both movements reach for historical connections between different uses, in the 16th Century, of the trumpet as a conveyor of information,
Inspiration for the opening movement is drawn from Rose Tremain’s book, Music and Silence. She tells us that the Duchess of Mecklenburg hired a night trumpeter to stand guard by her sleeping grandson, the future King of Denmark Christian IV. If the baby awoke the trumpeter was instructed to sound the alarm (probably waking the entire royal household as he did so). The Duchess feared the power of dreams so the trumpeter was also commanded to play a lively melody to chase away the child’s terrors’.

The introduction sets the nocturnal pace, followed by a gentle rocking motion in the accompaniment with sustained trumpet line. Darker textures follow, leading to an alerting cell. The middle section gives way to a distant bright trumpet tune to lift the baby’s spirits. The nightmare dispatched, the household returns to its somnolent state.

The German architect, Kirchner, a contemporary of Christian IV, designed an early ‘bugging’ device which was shaped like a huge trumpet, structured on the Fibonacci sequence. This trumpet ‘ear’ was secreted between walls where Court conversation could be monitored in seclusion. In my imaginings this aural instrument might have produced diverse results, from sweeping reverberation to a perpetuum mobile of discourse. The trumpet opens the movement with its bell directed into the inside of the piano, to exaggerate the resonance of the harmonics. After this, all manner of musical exchanges follow.

Duration: 11 minutes
performance notes

The use of a grand piano is preferable for the second movement to be folly effective, but it is not essential.
Note to the pianist: care should be taken to sustain the pedal as directed in the second movement to give maximum resonance to the trumpet. The piano lid should be fully open.

Note to the trumpeter: In Kirchner’s Ear it is important that the trumpeter stands in the curve of the grand piano, if used, with the bell of the trumpet focused on the lower strings to enhance the sound to the full. A separate sheet of the first page of the second movement is provided and should be placed on the frame inside the piano. The music stand needs to be in such a position that the player can turn easily from the interior of the piano to face the audience without disruption.
Cecilia Mcdowell