Composition – Matthew Heap: Reflections on New Music

Episodes

1. 7

   Brass Quintet: Groovin’

   This week we’re going to look at the last variation in the brass quintet. If we look back at what came before, we can see that I teased an ending that was a little like the beginning – solo trumpet juxtaposed with textural writing for the others (although this time it’s less textural and a […]…

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   Jun 27, 2012
2. 6

   Brass Quintet: Fugue and Chorale

   We are almost finished with the Brass Quintet (which I think will be named “Tango Townships” – an anagram of Washington Post that has a sort of Sousa Marchy Military kind of feel to me…). This post will look at the two variations that surround the theme. Whether or not I meant it in the […] The...

   Jun 19, 2012
3. 5

   Brass Quintet: Getting Aggressive…

   Today we’re going to look at the most abstract of the variations – Variation 2: Aggressive. For this one, I have put the pdf and the mp3 here at the top so that you can listen first and try to figure out what is going on: Brass Quintet – Variation 2 (MP3) Brass Quintet – Variation […] The post...

   Jun 7, 2012
4. 4

   Brass Quintet: Quirky?

   As I promised last time, this post will delve into the first variation, which is labelled “Quirky” (which, to be fair, could describe a lot of what I write, and perhaps who I am…). I knew that I wanted this to be one of the more “fun” variations to balance out the mysterious atmosphere of […] The...

   May 23, 2012
5. 3

   Brass Quintet: New Beginnings

   In the last post I discussed my thoughts and actions in setting the theme of my brass quintet (which still doesn’t have a name). As a theme, it serves as crucial generative material for the entire work–generative material that should be represented in the opening (at least, according to my…

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   Apr 26, 2012
6. 2

   Brass Quintet: The Theme

   Last time I discussed a failed beginning and why it failed. Today, I’m going to look at the theme a little bit more (based on the Sousa). It is important to remember that this is going to come in around the middle of the piece, or perhaps the 2/3rds mark – it’s the big reveal […] The post Brass...

   Apr 16, 2012
7. 1

   Brass Quintet: Unsatisfying Beginnings

   In my last post, I described the beginning stages of composition for an as-yet untitled Brass Quintet. Today I’m going to look at my first attempt at a beginning for the piece, and isolate why it didn’t work for me. To recap, I am hoping to write a piece that is a) fun, b) a […] The post Brass...

   Mar 14, 2012