Image soure: https://www.deviantart.com/chibi-exorcist/favourites/50112527/lol-wut
Capture the excitement of the monster-catching craze with this raucous piece for younger bands! (Can you guess what it’s a parody of?)
Brandon Nelson
IMAGO DEI
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Commissioned to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the founding of Fitchburg State University, this
celebratory piece includes quotations from their alma mater, In Old Wachusett’s Shadow. The title of this piece, Latin for “perseverance,” is the school’s official motto.If you’d like to perform this piece, get in touch with me!
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Valor is boldness or determination in facing great danger, especially in battle; heroic courage; bravery. In this piece, I seek to portray those who, throughout history and in various ways, have demonstrated this heroic and noble quality.
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A grade 3 setting of a long-beloved hymn tune. The piece is presented as a theme-and-variations that give a full emotional range to this timeless song!
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I think we’re all aware of local band programs that take on a certain legendary quality over the years. In my area, one such program is that at Kingsford High School (Kingsford, MI). For many years, under the leadership of Ben Sherk, the KHS Bands attained a very high level of musicianship and, in the case of the marching band, showmanship. The whole community fell in love with its unique band program.Of course, one person can’t keep going forever, and so, at the beginning of the 2022 school year, Mr. Sherk handed over his baton to Jacob Barnby. It’s always a formidable challenge to “fill the shoes” in a legendary program, but through intelligence, determination, and lots of community of support, Mr. Barnby has successfully begun a new chapter for Kingsford. With this piece, I want to both honor the incredible legacy of Mr. Sherk and to wish Mr. Barnby and the whole Kingsford community many continued years of great music making! Onward to new horizons!
About the Composition
It’s always been a struggle for musicologists to describe the functional nature of the harmonies of Late Romantic composers, such as Wagner, Liszt, and Debussy. Familiar triads are often deployed in unfamiliar ways. Traditional Roman Numeral analysis is often difficult or impossible to describe this music.In an attempt to understand the unique nature of this type of tonality, German musicologist Hugo Riemann came up with a simple, elegant way around this problem: describe the motion between triads rather than focus on the “function” of the individual chord. There are several “operations” that Riemann came up with, and musicologists since have greatly expanded on these concepts (under the heading Neo-Riemannian Theory). It is those essential operations that I have deployed in devloping the harmonic framework for this piece.
Those operations are described with letters:
P – the third of the chord moves up or down by a 1/2 step to create the opposite quality (e.g., C major becomes C minor)
R – in major, the 5th of a root position chord moves up to the 6th scale degree (e.g., C major becomes A minor); in minor, the root moves down a whole tone (e.g., A minor becomes C major)
L – in major, the root moves down a diatonic step (e.g., C major becomes E minor); in minor, the 5th moves up a diatonic step (e.g., E minor becomes C major)
N – a major triad is exchanged for its minor subdominant (e.g., C major becomes F minor); a minor triad is exchanged for its major dominant (e.g., C minor becomes G major)
S – the exchange of triads that share a third (e.g., C major becomes C# minor)
H – the exchange of triads around a doubly-chromatic mediant relationship (e.g., C major becomes Ab minor)
The first theme in this piece uses operations P-R-L-N-S-H beginning on C major. The second, lyrical theme in this piece uses the operations H-S-N-L-R-P (the retrograde of that of the first theme) beginning on Db major.
Melodically, the lyrical theme is a variation in augmentation of the subsidiary of the first theme and the coda trades material from the primary and subsidiary portions of the first theme. In this sense, the piece is highly self-referential (organic).
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El Malei Rachamim (God full of compassion) is a Jewish Prayer for the departed that is recited at funeral services, on visiting the graves of relatives, and after having been called up to a reading of the Torah on the anniversary of the death of a relative. The prayer originated in the Jewish communities of Western and Eastern Europe and since the end of the Holocaust, the prayer has been adapted as a memorial prayer for the victims of the Holocaust and of Nazi persecution.
This is the text of the prayer and the inspiration for this piece:
Merciful God, who dwells above, provide a sure rest upon the Divine Presence’s wings, to all souls of our holy and pure brethren whose blood was spilt by the murderers in Auschwitz, Belzec, Bergen Belsen, Dachau, Majdanaek, Sobibor, Treblinka, and other extermination camps in Europe, all the souls of the six million Jews, victims of the European Holocaust, who were murdered, slaughtered, burnt and exterminated for the Sanctification of Thy Name, by the German Nazi assassins and their helpers from the rest of the peoples. Therefore, the Master of Mercy will protect them forever, from behind the hiding of his wings, and will tie their souls with the rope of life. The Everlasting is their heritage, the Garden of Eden shall be their resting room, and they shall rest peacefully upon their lying place, they will stand for their fate at the end of days, and let us say: Amen.
This piece features a combination of traditional and contemporary composition methods to create a highly emotional and deeply meaningful experience for performer and listener. The subject is explored from a number of angles, including reverence, mystery, grief, anger, and hope.
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Well you can judge for yourself.
This is actually a sax solo (if I remember correctly) that I was asked to transcribe for horn so I’d have a solo to play with the band.
This was in the summer of 2011.
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I accidentally dropped my notebook in a snowbank. Luckily the pencil didn’t smudge too badly.
Hopefully the whole piece will be done within a week or two…
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See a piece from conception to, well, at least partially done!
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This is the text of the press release about the composition and premiere for my latest concert band piece:
Long under the well-received guidance of Benjamin Sherk, at the beginning of the current school year in Kingsford the band students and community were introduced to a new face on the podium: Mr. Jacob Barnby. Ishpeming native and composer Brandon Nelson has just put the finishing touches on a new composition to mark this momentous transition point in the history of the community.
Said Nelson, “I think we’re all aware of local band programs that take on a certain legendary quality over the years. In my area, one such program is that at Kingsford. For many years, under the leadership of Ben Sherk, the bands attained a very high level of musicianship and, in the case of the marching band, showmanship. The whole community fell in love with its unique band program.
“Of course, one person can’t keep going forever, and so, at the beginning of the 2022 school year, Mr. Sherk handed over his baton to Jacob Barnby. It’s always a formidable challenge to ‘fill the shoes’ in a legendary program, but through intelligence, determination, and lots of community of support, Mr. Barnby has successfully begun a new chapter for Kingsford.
“With this piece, I wanted to both honor the incredible legacy of Mr. Sherk and to wish Mr. Barnby and the whole Kingsford community many continued years of great music making!”
Barnby, a native of Onaway, Michigan, is a graduate of Northern Michigan University, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree through the University of Florida.
“I am very honored that Brandon has chosen to compose this fun piece to commemorate the beginning of my time at Kingsford.”, said Barnby. “It’s not every day the world premiere of a new piece of music is played, so I am incredibly grateful that my students get this opportunity as well. There is a huge responsibility here to ‘get it right’ as the interpretation we take with the piece lays the groundwork for other performances!”
Nelson had this to add about the process of writing this composition: “Let me begin with a little historical background on my inspiration: it’s always been a struggle for musicians to describe the functional nature of the harmonies of certain composers of the late 19th century, such as Wagner, Liszt, and Debussy. They often use familiar triads in unfamiliar ways, making traditional analysis difficult or impossible.
“In an attempt to understand the unique nature of this type of music, German musician Hugo Riemann came up with a simple, elegant way around this problem: describe the motion between the chords rather than focus on the “function” of each individual chord. There are several “operations” that Riemann came up with, and musicians since have greatly expanded on these concepts.
“It is the essential operations of Riemann that I have deployed in developing the harmonic framework for this piece, lending to it a flavor I would describe as unique yet somehow familiar, like an echo of the past with subtle overtones of the future.
“To me, the piece captures both the dynamic spirit and immense challenges posed by major changes in life. The technical aspects employed, I feel, give a fitting voice to these feelings.”
The composition, “To New Horizons!”, will be premiered at the Kingsford High School Auditorium on April 27th at 7pm. Composer Nelson will be in attendance and will give brief remarks prior to the performance.
Brandon Nelson 