What A Friend

A standard brass quintet with optional trumpet for horn. As one might expect the piece is cheerful from beginning to end. After a bright intro, the trumpet carry the tune until handed over to the middle voices with flourishes in the trumpets. After a transition that leads upward to an exciting climax. The piece abruptly shits to a quiet and expressive section lead by the trombone on the theme where it all builds to another zenith and once again abruptly goes quiet. A modulation and meter shift and the piece becomes countrapuntally gentle.. A meter shift back to the beginning and an exuberant building to a joyous conclusion.

A traditional quintet with optional sixth part baritone, this driving arrangement passes the melodic material constantly around the ensemble. A fun piece to play!

Opening with a fanfare, the first section is in block harmonization with some moving lines. It then moves into melodic statements in the lower instruments with supported obiligatti in the trumpets and horn. The structure again becomes solid in scoring only to return with similar trumpet obbligati. The obbligati is next introduced in the lower voices and then increased rhythmic activity in all voices builds to a solid ending.