Title: Memories of Things Both Lost and Found
Commission/Dedication: Commissioned by Brent Shires and Gail Robertson for the 2015 International Horn Symposium, Los Angeles.
Premiere: August 8, 2015 by Brent Shires, horn, Gail Robertson, euphonium, and Terrie Shires, piano.
Composer: Barbara York
Publisher: Cimarron Music Press
Year: 2015
Program notes from the composer:
This piece is a commentary on the transient nature of all things. Youth, fame and fortune, success, passion, romance, all are fleeting and insubstantial – illusion in a sense. The memories rise and fall from the mists of consciousness, fragmentary, unfinished until nothing remains but a pulsating movement through light.
Author assessment and pedagogical considerations:
This is a fascinating piece that requires a great deal of musical intimacy from all three memories, particularly the horn and euphonium. The pair should plan to practice together a great deal, apart from the piano, and work on solidifying the intricate harmonies and rhythms that have been written. To be clear, for this piece to work successfully, there has to be a fair amount of musical maturity. It is not ‘clinical’ in nature.
In considering performance, both brass players will need to have a fair amount of flexibility to perform the work. There is one measure that will require a little triple tonguing, but nothing crazy. The horn part has two measures written in bass clef.
Recordings:
