Review


Sandra Gay
Fanfare for Double Brass Choir:
Choir 1: 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 2 horns, euphonium and tuba. Choir 2: 3 trumpets, 2 horns, trombone, euphonium, and tuba.

Winter Park, Florida, United States
Publisher: Wehr's Music House
Date of Publication: 2015
URL: http://www.wehrs-music-house.com

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Brass Ensemble - 6+ brass (choir)

Sandra Gay’s Fanfare for Double Brass Choir is a septendectet, a work for 17 instruments, in this case organized into two brass choirs. Choir 1 consists of 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 2 horns, euphonium and tuba. Choir 2 is made up of 3 trumpets, 2 horns, trombone, euphonium, and tuba. At first glance the score looks like it could have been written for St. Mark’s in Venice in the late 16th Century. It features antiphonal writing that looks similar to works by Giovanni Gabrieli. The harmonic language, however, is simple, tonal and more consonant with late 19th Century Romanticism than the Renaissance. Its melodic expression is motivic, befitting a fanfare, and its rhythmic motion uncomplicated.

 

Gay’s Fanfare is a brief, easily accessible composition. The brass writing stays almost entirely within the staff. High school level players will be able to tackle the work and present a satisfying performance. Band directors, provided they have 17 performers, can feature their brass sections in a concert opening with this septendectet.

Reviewer: Paul Overly
Review Published June 15, 2023