Serenade No. 3
November 18, 2012, Chris Gekker, trumpet, Chris Vadala, saxophone. Joseph & Alma Gildenhorn Recital Hall, University of Maryland School of Music.
Fall 2013, Berklee College of Music, David Friend Recital Hall
The composition of this piece was suggested to me by friend, trumpeter Chris Gekker. Chris and I recorded Poems for Trumpet and Piano and Four Lyrics for Trumpet and Piano (Albany CD). Chris has most recently been working with saxophonist Chris Vadala and pianist Rita Sloan. His idea was for a piece with a reflective, elegiac, and yet jazzy tone, that would blend well with other pieces he was hoping to record.
Serenade no. 3 is a trio for trumpet in Bb, tenor saxophone, and piano. The movements are: Overture–with up tempo cross-accented phrase rhythms; Interlude–an arioso recitative with cadenza like arabesques in the solo winds supported by a harpsichord like accompaniment; Duet–a song without words much like the slow movement of a trio sonata; Chase–a propulsive four-voice fugue written in a jazzy swinging rhythm with a witty conclusion.
More Chamber Music Works
String Quartet no. 4, Epiphany, Opus 196
Clearing the Clouds from Our Minds, Opus 157
Serenade No. 4, Walk That Lonesome Valley, Opus 112
Serenade No. 2 for alto recorder, cello, and harpsichord, Opus 98
Poems for Trumpet and Piano, Opus 85
Two Encores: 1, Canon; 2, Lament, Opus 78 no. 2
Two Encores: 1, Canon; 2, Lament, Opus 78 No. 1
String Quartet no. 3 (Homage to Beethoven), Opus 71
Harmonium: Eight Poems for Brass Quintet after Wallace Stevens, Opus 48
Four Pieces in Familiar Style, Opus 41
What Goes Around Comes Around, Opus 38
Concerto for Oboe and Five Instruments, Opus 32
The Book of Moonlight, Opus 31
“Sleep Song” a children’s piece for violin and piano, Opus 18
Fantasia on an Imaginary Hymn, Opus 17