Review

Manuel de Falla
Dance of the Miller from "The Three Cornered Hat, Suite 2":

Arranged by Charles Decker

Brass Quintet: 2 B-flat trumpets, F horn, trombone, tuba

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2021
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts.

Primary Genre: Brass Ensemble - 5 brass

Falla (1876-1946) wrote this ballet in 1916-17. It has a complicated plot involving attempted seduction, jealousy etc. The miller and his wife have outwitted the wicked corregidor, and they dance this flamenco to celebrate their victory. The arrangement is scored for the ‘standard’ brass quintet of 2 B-flat trumpets, F horn, trombone and tuba. Following a short, tonally  ambiguous introduction, the piece settles into the key of A minor.

It’s an exciting and energetic piece, clearly intended to be the accompaniment to much stamping of feet and calling for great rhythmic precision. All parts lie mostly in mid-range. The majority of notes in all of them are accented - staccato, marcato, etc. The most demanding part is first trumpet, going up twice to c³. Trombone is used in a supporting role and has many repeated notes. Its part is given in bass clef, range G-d¹. Charles Decker was the trumpet professor at Tennessee Tech University from 1981 to 2016.