Nickitas Demos

Five Breezy Bagatelles for Bones


 

Paused:

  • 1
    Five Breezy Bagatelles_m1_excerpt
  • 2
    Five Breezy Bagatelles_m2_excerpt
  • 3
    Five Breezy Bagatelles_m3_excerpt
  • 4
    Five Breezy Bagatelles_m4_excerpt
  • 5
    Five Breezy Bagatelles_m5_excerpt

Five Breezy Bagatelles for Bones (1997)

Nickitas Demos

I. [fanfare] - score preview

II. [all the earth has turned to sky] score preview

III. [extreme measures] score preview

IV. [the resonance of shadows] score preview

V. [resolutions] score preview

Duration: 11'30"

Stream movement III in its entirety on ReverbNation

This work was indirectly inspired by Donald Erb's Remembrances for two trumpets. Having been in attendance at a performance of the work at the Cleveland Museum of Art, I was captivated by the power of the brass, especially in a series of short movements as Remembrances is constructed. I resolved to tackle a small brass ensemble piece of my own and the resulting effort became Five Breezy Bagatelles for Bones. Each of the very brief movements explores a different facet of the low brass sound from typical fanfare scorings found in the first movement, explorations of glissandi (unique to the trombones within the brass family) in the second movement, use of varied mutes in the fourth movement to idiomatic ensemble writing found in the third and fifth movements.