Quartets for a contest

[Accidental]

Doing a quartet comp in Feb, but haven't got any music so need to shop!! (2 cors/horn/euph). The only "hard" ones I know are the Vinters and Sparke's Divertimento (love it) but everyone seems to play them and it would be nice to come up with something new....

Any suggestions please?!!

 

[MoominDave]

Get a Tuba and do some of the quintets available for free on my website!
:lol:

Dave

 

[Accidental]

Nice plug!

May well do that - I think there's an ensemble section too. Seriously though, we need a decent "test piece" for a standard quartet!

 

[MoominDave]

Mmm, not sure. I've only really come across the Vinter ones that are any good.

Due to people like the Canadian Brass and the many other similar groups, there now exists a sophisticated and varied repertoire for quintet (tpt/tpt/F hn/trom/tuba) which can be easily adapted for cnt/cnt/Eb hn/euph or trom/tuba, but no group has done the same for the old-style brass band foursome, so the genre is still stuck with the Wright & Round William Rimmer-style stuff. Maybe it's time for quartet contests to cut their losses and relaunch as quintet contests?

If you're up for doing your own arranging, one piece I've sometimes thought would sit well for a good band 4tet (who also know when not to use vibrato!) is the J.S. Bach Prelude and Fugue in Eb from the second book of his 48 Preludes and Fugues.

Dave

 

[Dave Payn]

I personally like the Joseph Horovitz Variations on a Theme of Paganini. About the same (ish) standard as the Vinters (well, possibly a tad - no more - easier than one or two of the Vinters, otherwise about the same standard). Still, when we tried it with Fulham's quartet, I apperared to be the only one that liked it!

Hope this helps

Regards

 

[davidsait]

Get a Tuba and do some of the quintets available for free on my website!

Ah nice plug! And I'm sure they'll be some new stuff along soon as well!

 

[Moy]

I have just bought a quartet for brass that looks really good by Simon Kerwin.
It's called Brass Quartet in 3 mvts. Published by Mostyn Music.
It won the NABBC composer competition in 1988.
The Co-op quartet got runners up with it I think.

 

[Hilary Mateer]

Have you tried any of the following?

Timepiece - Peter Graham
Little Swiss Suite - Goff Richards
Andante & Scherzo for Four - Derek Broadbent


Where is the contest?
We have been looking out for some but they seem to be a bit thin on the ground at the moment

 

[MoominDave]

Get a Tuba and do some of the quintets available for free on my website!

Ah nice plug! And I'm sure they'll be some new stuff along soon as well!

Yes, O Webmaster! When I get a couple of spare moments back to back - so about 2035...

Dave

 

[PeterBale]

Yes, O Webmaster! When I get a couple of spare moments back to back - so about 2035...

Only 10hrs 15 min to go then :wink: :shock:

 

[Accidental]

Where is the contest?
We have been looking out for some but they seem to be a bit thin on the ground at the moment

Its down in Sussex - organised by SCABA. Not sure what the entry is like as they only really revived it last year, and this'll be the first time we've done it. But hey, if you fancy a trip, see you there!

Thanks for the ideas guys - I think I might try the Kerwin and Graham.

 

[James Yelland]

Peter Graham's 'Timepiece' - not hideously difficult but very good.

 

[GJG]

Please don't take this the wrong way; I'm not trying to be deliberately facetious. But:

Surely the best solution (at least for the future) is to
a) have a whip-round,
b) find a sponsor,
c) get a grant, or
d) scrape together some funds by any other vaguely legal means,

then

a) commision someone to write a new piece to your specifications (I'm sure there would be more than one tMP-er falling over themselves to volunteer), or,
b) better still, sponsor a competition to write new quartet "test-pieces", from which you would have the pick of the crop, at least for a period.

???

I fully realise, of course, that the practicalities are nowhere near as simple as they might sound, but I do think that, as a movement, we could do more to encourage the writing of new music, rather than just sitting around complaining that there isn't enough decent repertoire.

Regards,

Gareth

 

[WhatSharp?]

Where is the contest?
We have been looking out for some but they seem to be a bit thin on the ground at the moment

Its down in Sussex - organised by SCABA. Not sure what the entry is like as they only really revived it last year, and this'll be the first time we've done it. But hey, if you fancy a trip, see you there!

Thanks for the ideas guys - I think I might try the Kerwin and Graham.

We did it this/last year (and hope to be entering at least a couple of quartets this/next year) its very good (especially since one of our quartets one the second section) and seems to be well supported.

Might well see you there (If I can find a quartet arrangment with a Sop in it, I did Bb last year and it was a disaster!).

 

[Accidental]

Please don't take this the wrong way; I'm not trying to be deliberately facetious.......

a) commision someone to write a new piece to your specifications (I'm sure there would be more than one tMP-er falling over themselves to volunteer), or,
b) better still, sponsor a competition to write new quartet "test-pieces", from which you would have the pick of the crop, at least for a period.

We've only got 6 weeks to sort something out so thats not really an option. Maybe next year though - are you volunteering Gareth?! :wink:

Thanks for all the suggestions guys (I wasn't complaining, just admitting my ignorance!) and hopefully see some of you there.

 

[James Yelland]

Other thoughts:

Edward Gregson wrote a quite difficult one (probably called Quartet. No 1 or something like that) - much of the material is similar to his Three Dance Episodes. Also, Roger Payne wrote two quite difficult quartets back in the 1970s. And outside the band quartet repertoire, there is Ramsoe's Quartet or Anton Simon's Quartet in the Form of a Sonatina - both quite long works and will require the horn to transpose.

Where you will find any of these suggestions is another matter......

 

[Accidental]

Just Music have 2 quartets by Roger Payne - might give them a go if I can persuade the committee to part with more cash! (I ordered the Sparke, Graham and Kerwin yesterday before I read James's post - d'oh!)