This is a CHRONOLOGICAL list of my works for CHAMBER ENSEMBLES/DUETS
Chamber Ensembles/Duets
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Quartet in F for Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble (2018)
Click here to purchase I. Belphoebe II. Heavy Fuel III. Remedios IV. The Sprawl Quartet No. 1 in F combines two things close to my heart: literature and tuba/euphonium writing. Each movement is a reflection on major novels and includes common musical threads. These works are The Faerie Queene (1590, 1596) by Edmund Spenser, Money (1984) by Martin Amis, One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Neuromancer (1984) by William Gibson. - Matthew Nunes Niceville, October 2018 I. Belphoebe “And with them eke, O Goddesse heavenly bright, Mirrour of grace and Majestie divine, Great Lady of the greatest Isle, whose light Like Phoebus lampe throughout the world doth shine, Shed thy faire beames into my feeble eyne, And raise my thoughts too humble and too vile, To thinke of that true glorious type of thine, The argument of mine afflicted stile: The which to heare, vouchsafe, O dearest dred a-while.” - Edmund Spenser II. Heavy Fuel “He could take one look at me - at the ashtray, the bottle, the four pots of coffee, my face, and my gut set like a stone on the white band of the towel- he could take one look at me and be pretty sure I ran on heavy fuel.” - Martin Amiss III. Remedios “Amaranta felt a mysterious trembling in the lace on her petticoats and she tried to grasp the sheet so that she would not fall down at the instant in which Remedios the Beauty began to rise. Úrsula, almost blind at the time, was the only person who was sufficiently calm to identify the nature of that determined wind and she left the sheets to the mercy of the light as she watched Remedios the Beauty waving goodbye in the midst of the flapping sheets that rose up with her, abandoning with her the environment of beetles and dahlias and passing through the air with her as four o'clock in the afternoon came to an end, and they were lost forever with her in the upper atmosphere where not even the highest-flying birds of memory could reach her.” - Gabriel Garcia Marquez IV. The Sprawl “Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of data abstracted from banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding...” - William Gibson |
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No Longer at Ease for Euphonium Quartet (2018)
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No Longer at Ease is a stand-alone euphonium quartet inspired by Chinua Achebe’s 1960 novel of the same name. In Achebe’s novel a young man is sent to University by his village’s elders in the hopes he will return able to guide and protect his people through uncertain and unwanted colonialist developments. However, the man abandons their plans to pursue his own interests and faces the fallout of his actions upon his return home and in the volatile years to come. Reading such an affective work in the final semester of my Masters preparing to return home was timely and I have found the similarities between my life and Achebe’s art blurred. I began writing this work upon returning home to Niceville, Florida and realizing that both myself and the town I call home have changed drastically.
The piece begins with jarring sixteenth-notes derived from a rising arpeggiated-tetrachord. Ceaseless double tonguing, the lead in the fourth euphonium, and unsettling metric shifts combine for unique and frenetic effects. A yearning melody enters amidst this chaos and is a musical spelling of “home”. The return and developments of the frenetic material culminates in a solo statement of this theme. The middle section represents the home of years past and features a uniquely Niceville quote with fragments of the Niceville High School fight song. These fragments make up each independent line and the music culminates in a triumphant victory. However, this victory is cut brief by the cutting sixteenth-note driven material from earlier. The finale is an exciting mockery of the “home” theme with interjections and exploitations of all previous themes.
- Matthew Nunes
Niceville, June 2018
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No Longer at Ease is a stand-alone euphonium quartet inspired by Chinua Achebe’s 1960 novel of the same name. In Achebe’s novel a young man is sent to University by his village’s elders in the hopes he will return able to guide and protect his people through uncertain and unwanted colonialist developments. However, the man abandons their plans to pursue his own interests and faces the fallout of his actions upon his return home and in the volatile years to come. Reading such an affective work in the final semester of my Masters preparing to return home was timely and I have found the similarities between my life and Achebe’s art blurred. I began writing this work upon returning home to Niceville, Florida and realizing that both myself and the town I call home have changed drastically.
The piece begins with jarring sixteenth-notes derived from a rising arpeggiated-tetrachord. Ceaseless double tonguing, the lead in the fourth euphonium, and unsettling metric shifts combine for unique and frenetic effects. A yearning melody enters amidst this chaos and is a musical spelling of “home”. The return and developments of the frenetic material culminates in a solo statement of this theme. The middle section represents the home of years past and features a uniquely Niceville quote with fragments of the Niceville High School fight song. These fragments make up each independent line and the music culminates in a triumphant victory. However, this victory is cut brief by the cutting sixteenth-note driven material from earlier. The finale is an exciting mockery of the “home” theme with interjections and exploitations of all previous themes.
- Matthew Nunes
Niceville, June 2018
Fight Mii for Brass Quintet (2018)
A Fantasy on the Mii Channel Theme by Kazumi Totaka
Dedicated to Kate Siebel
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A Fantasy on the Mii Channel Theme by Kazumi Totaka
Dedicated to Kate Siebel
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Hypnos for Multiple-Woodwind Quintet (2017)
Commissioned by the Montclair State University Multiple-Woodwind Quintet
“May the merciful gods, if indeed there be such, guard those hours when no power of the will, or drug that the cunning of man devises, can keep me from the chasm of sleep. Death is merciful, for there is no return therefrom, but with him who has come back out of the nethermost chambers of night, haggard and knowing, peace rests nevermore.”
- H.P. Lovecraft, Hypnos (1923)
This quote from one of H.P. Lovecraft’s (1890 – 1937) stories reveals his relationship to dreams that affected his life and work. Lovecraft had an ambivalent relationship with his dream worlds: the dreams of horror led to riveting, suspenseful fiction but some tales involve characters yearning for the chance to leave their lives to live in dreams of paradise. Hypnos reflects on these matters: the twisted lullabies with valiant efforts to stay awake, the confrontations with multiple nightmares, and wrestling with the unimaginable hopes and horrors of the mind.
Matthew Nunes
Montclair, New Jersey, Jan. 18 – Feb. 20, 2017
Commissioned by the Montclair State University Multiple-Woodwind Quintet
“May the merciful gods, if indeed there be such, guard those hours when no power of the will, or drug that the cunning of man devises, can keep me from the chasm of sleep. Death is merciful, for there is no return therefrom, but with him who has come back out of the nethermost chambers of night, haggard and knowing, peace rests nevermore.”
- H.P. Lovecraft, Hypnos (1923)
This quote from one of H.P. Lovecraft’s (1890 – 1937) stories reveals his relationship to dreams that affected his life and work. Lovecraft had an ambivalent relationship with his dream worlds: the dreams of horror led to riveting, suspenseful fiction but some tales involve characters yearning for the chance to leave their lives to live in dreams of paradise. Hypnos reflects on these matters: the twisted lullabies with valiant efforts to stay awake, the confrontations with multiple nightmares, and wrestling with the unimaginable hopes and horrors of the mind.
Matthew Nunes
Montclair, New Jersey, Jan. 18 – Feb. 20, 2017
Clarinet Trio No. 1 (2015)
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I. Capriccio
This lively capriccio features a bouncy melody that is imitated in canon through the other two clarinets. Then the descending fourth motive introduced early is developed in a series of succinct statements. The movement ends with a three part canon with each clarinet racing against the others.
II. Elegy*
After someone leaves our lives there are lingering reminders of the pain of their absence combined with the sweetness of the happiest memories. The middle section represents a flashback to happier times yet the sustained notes hint that something is not quite right. In the end the melody is unable to resolve as it should yet those around it continue on their way.
*Please note that the bass clarinet player should play soprano clarinet for this movement only.
III. Frenetic
This piece would not have been written were it not for the prodding of my friend and fellow composer Felix Rivera. I would joke with him that he may never write a piece not based on tritones and he quipped back that I may never write a piece for clarinets. I decided it was time to fix not having a clarinet selection in my repertoire and this work is the result. This movement is a frenetic and virtuosic dance based off of Rivera’s signature interval of the tritone.
- Matthew Nunes
Windsor, September 2014 - March 2015
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I. Capriccio
This lively capriccio features a bouncy melody that is imitated in canon through the other two clarinets. Then the descending fourth motive introduced early is developed in a series of succinct statements. The movement ends with a three part canon with each clarinet racing against the others.
II. Elegy*
After someone leaves our lives there are lingering reminders of the pain of their absence combined with the sweetness of the happiest memories. The middle section represents a flashback to happier times yet the sustained notes hint that something is not quite right. In the end the melody is unable to resolve as it should yet those around it continue on their way.
*Please note that the bass clarinet player should play soprano clarinet for this movement only.
III. Frenetic
This piece would not have been written were it not for the prodding of my friend and fellow composer Felix Rivera. I would joke with him that he may never write a piece not based on tritones and he quipped back that I may never write a piece for clarinets. I decided it was time to fix not having a clarinet selection in my repertoire and this work is the result. This movement is a frenetic and virtuosic dance based off of Rivera’s signature interval of the tritone.
- Matthew Nunes
Windsor, September 2014 - March 2015
Kids in the Corner for Brass Quintet (2014)
Commissioned by Thomas Smith
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Kids in the Corner is a piece especially composed for Thomas Smith, a family friend and former trumpeter, as a personal thank you for his generous donation to my “Get Matt to Maryland” Rally via rally.org. With this work I aimed to explore some dance styles that don’t tend to be invited to other suites. I wanted to challenge myself with various musical styles while infusing the quirkiness of Thomas into the heart of the piece.
I. Hip
This summer I was able to pass through New York City on my way to a graduate school audition. On the train ride there I ended up next to a kid who was grooving to music I could hear snippets of through his headphones. This movement reflects characteristics of the sounds I heard on my way into the city.
II. One for the lovebirds…
It’s time to cuddle up next to your partner and take a trip down memory lane. This movement is an ode to the slow songs one may have experienced from a dance in the 1950’s.
III. Swung
For quite some time I have been intrigued with early instrumental dances and this movement explores their defining characteristics while hinting at this work’s overall structure.
IV. Posh, Prim, and Proper
The axiomatic propinquity of the Minuet and Trio is a coruscating combination of tonal and temporal creation. A suite as brilliant as this is but an inchoate one without homage to music’s finest moment. It is propitious that I elucidated an exposition featuring a Bach cello suite with motives from the Brahms Requiem in fugal counterpoint set against themes by Mahler.
V. Jig
A trumpet player I was performing with was warming up before a concert and cascading a peculiar series of long tones into the hall. After he finished I approached him and asked him what he was playing. What he revealed to me was hilarious and this movement is homage to that occurrence.
- Matthew Nunes
Windsor, December 2014
Commissioned by Thomas Smith
Click here to purchase
Kids in the Corner is a piece especially composed for Thomas Smith, a family friend and former trumpeter, as a personal thank you for his generous donation to my “Get Matt to Maryland” Rally via rally.org. With this work I aimed to explore some dance styles that don’t tend to be invited to other suites. I wanted to challenge myself with various musical styles while infusing the quirkiness of Thomas into the heart of the piece.
I. Hip
This summer I was able to pass through New York City on my way to a graduate school audition. On the train ride there I ended up next to a kid who was grooving to music I could hear snippets of through his headphones. This movement reflects characteristics of the sounds I heard on my way into the city.
II. One for the lovebirds…
It’s time to cuddle up next to your partner and take a trip down memory lane. This movement is an ode to the slow songs one may have experienced from a dance in the 1950’s.
III. Swung
For quite some time I have been intrigued with early instrumental dances and this movement explores their defining characteristics while hinting at this work’s overall structure.
IV. Posh, Prim, and Proper
The axiomatic propinquity of the Minuet and Trio is a coruscating combination of tonal and temporal creation. A suite as brilliant as this is but an inchoate one without homage to music’s finest moment. It is propitious that I elucidated an exposition featuring a Bach cello suite with motives from the Brahms Requiem in fugal counterpoint set against themes by Mahler.
V. Jig
A trumpet player I was performing with was warming up before a concert and cascading a peculiar series of long tones into the hall. After he finished I approached him and asked him what he was playing. What he revealed to me was hilarious and this movement is homage to that occurrence.
- Matthew Nunes
Windsor, December 2014
Beacons for Euphonium Quartet (2014)
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Beacons is a four movement work for euphonium quartet begun during the final year of my undergraduate degree and completed during my first semester of graduate school. In this work are a multitude of emotions I was living or struggling with during a period where life never went as expected.
The first movement, Glimmer, represents an individual seeing a faint light in the darkness unsure of what it truly is or how long the path to it will take. Regardless, they move towards it while reflecting on the possibilities of what awaits them. In the second movement, Beacon Bacchanal, the surety of reaching this goal has seduced this person into a doomed revelry of overconfidence. The celebration spirals out of control into Aura Awry where time churns on and inner demons surface. In the final movement, Shine, this individual finds themselves standing at the edge of the light. They do not know where it comes from or what lies ahead once they cross this threshold. Regardless, they step forth…
I aimed to challenge the limits of the euphonium both in technicality and in expressiveness. Nearly all registers are used as well as special instructions in the third movement. Loud group showiness is surrounded by individual displays of finesse where every part plays a pivotal role.
I must also thank two groups of people who aided in the shaping of this work. The first are my University of Central Florida euphonium friends who aided in the preview premiere of two of the movements on my senior composition recital. The second are the euphonium and baritone members of the Youth Brass Band of Central Florida and the Brass Band of Central Florida who performed the final movement this summer. I am grateful for their patience and professionalism as the work was being completed.
- Matthew Nunes
Windsor, September 2014
Click here to purchase
Beacons is a four movement work for euphonium quartet begun during the final year of my undergraduate degree and completed during my first semester of graduate school. In this work are a multitude of emotions I was living or struggling with during a period where life never went as expected.
The first movement, Glimmer, represents an individual seeing a faint light in the darkness unsure of what it truly is or how long the path to it will take. Regardless, they move towards it while reflecting on the possibilities of what awaits them. In the second movement, Beacon Bacchanal, the surety of reaching this goal has seduced this person into a doomed revelry of overconfidence. The celebration spirals out of control into Aura Awry where time churns on and inner demons surface. In the final movement, Shine, this individual finds themselves standing at the edge of the light. They do not know where it comes from or what lies ahead once they cross this threshold. Regardless, they step forth…
I aimed to challenge the limits of the euphonium both in technicality and in expressiveness. Nearly all registers are used as well as special instructions in the third movement. Loud group showiness is surrounded by individual displays of finesse where every part plays a pivotal role.
I must also thank two groups of people who aided in the shaping of this work. The first are my University of Central Florida euphonium friends who aided in the preview premiere of two of the movements on my senior composition recital. The second are the euphonium and baritone members of the Youth Brass Band of Central Florida and the Brass Band of Central Florida who performed the final movement this summer. I am grateful for their patience and professionalism as the work was being completed.
- Matthew Nunes
Windsor, September 2014
Coalition for Horn Quartet (2014)
A coalition is known as a group of people who join forces for a common goal. To some performers this may be a more accurate description of what the relationship of a chamber ensemble is like. Each part must be mastered for the entire work to truly exist – one weak link could ruin the whole.This is represented musically by the performers often being divided into units of two or more. The first movement relies on a unified opening followed by the melody and its rhythmic motor underneath. The second movement has each player weaving in and out of roles more subtly while the third movement requires ultimate individual precision of all four performers.
Orlando, May 2014
- Matthew Nunes
A coalition is known as a group of people who join forces for a common goal. To some performers this may be a more accurate description of what the relationship of a chamber ensemble is like. Each part must be mastered for the entire work to truly exist – one weak link could ruin the whole.This is represented musically by the performers often being divided into units of two or more. The first movement relies on a unified opening followed by the melody and its rhythmic motor underneath. The second movement has each player weaving in and out of roles more subtly while the third movement requires ultimate individual precision of all four performers.
Orlando, May 2014
- Matthew Nunes
Reflections on a Winter's Morning for Two Pianos (2014)
Commissioned by James Ehmer
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Reflections on a Winter’s Morning is a piece especially composed for James Ehmer, a composer, euphonium player, and soon to be medical student, as a personal thank you for his generous donation to my “Get Matt to Maryland” Rally via rally.org. James came to me with two wonderful poems describing idyllic winter scenes and the awe of a morning’s sun. These instantly reminded me of the first mornings I would ever wake to snow fall. The two pianos share multiple roles in recalling these moments: the persistence of an alarm clock in a drowsy morning, the first few fluttering snowflakes, a child teeming with excitement, and finally the grandeur of the sun reigning over the flurry.
Orlando, May 2014
- Matthew Nunes
Commissioned by James Ehmer
Click here to purchase
Reflections on a Winter’s Morning is a piece especially composed for James Ehmer, a composer, euphonium player, and soon to be medical student, as a personal thank you for his generous donation to my “Get Matt to Maryland” Rally via rally.org. James came to me with two wonderful poems describing idyllic winter scenes and the awe of a morning’s sun. These instantly reminded me of the first mornings I would ever wake to snow fall. The two pianos share multiple roles in recalling these moments: the persistence of an alarm clock in a drowsy morning, the first few fluttering snowflakes, a child teeming with excitement, and finally the grandeur of the sun reigning over the flurry.
Orlando, May 2014
- Matthew Nunes
JERK for Two Horns (2014)
Commissioned by Emily Judd and Katie Rudzik
Premiered March 15th, 2015 by Emily Judd and Katie Rudzik (horns)
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We all have at least one person in our lives we cannot stand but put up with. When this interaction occurs most people present a calm composure but internally there is a litany of frustration. The energetic horns represent this range of emotion with the extremes of the instrument: large intervals between parts, repetitive and jagged sixteenth note patterns, and gnarly falls that mimic a snarl of the title. Contrary to this inspiration the performers I wrote this for are two of the nicest people I had the pleasure of meeting in Orlando. Their enthusiasm and advice were crucial to the formation of this work.
- Matthew Nunes
Orlando, April 2014
Commissioned by Emily Judd and Katie Rudzik
Premiered March 15th, 2015 by Emily Judd and Katie Rudzik (horns)
Click here to purchase
We all have at least one person in our lives we cannot stand but put up with. When this interaction occurs most people present a calm composure but internally there is a litany of frustration. The energetic horns represent this range of emotion with the extremes of the instrument: large intervals between parts, repetitive and jagged sixteenth note patterns, and gnarly falls that mimic a snarl of the title. Contrary to this inspiration the performers I wrote this for are two of the nicest people I had the pleasure of meeting in Orlando. Their enthusiasm and advice were crucial to the formation of this work.
- Matthew Nunes
Orlando, April 2014
Flurry for Flute Quartet (2013)
Premiered January 30th, 2015 by the UCF Flute Knights - Dr. Nora Lee Garcia, Director
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FLURRY for flute quartet or ensemble by Matthew Nunes is a captivating composition written during the winter of 2014. Cast in 4 short movements: Allegro Energico; Dolce, pio; Giocoso; and Danza, this colorful, audience-friendly work makes a memorable feature number. Flurry may be performed by a quartet of C flutes. An alto flute part is provided as an alternative for part 3, and a bass flute part is provided as an alternative for part 4. Multiple players may be used on each part to expand the ensemble.
Premiered January 30th, 2015 by the UCF Flute Knights - Dr. Nora Lee Garcia, Director
Click here to purchase
FLURRY for flute quartet or ensemble by Matthew Nunes is a captivating composition written during the winter of 2014. Cast in 4 short movements: Allegro Energico; Dolce, pio; Giocoso; and Danza, this colorful, audience-friendly work makes a memorable feature number. Flurry may be performed by a quartet of C flutes. An alto flute part is provided as an alternative for part 3, and a bass flute part is provided as an alternative for part 4. Multiple players may be used on each part to expand the ensemble.
Radicals for Horn Quartet (2013)
For the UCF Horn Studio of Dr. Johnny Pherigo
Premiered April 5th, 2014 by Josie Wisser, Emily Judd, Katie Rudzik, and John Apostolides
Published by Cimarron Music Press
One afternoon while working my summer job at the Air Force Armament Museum in Eglin, Florida, I was asked to dust off some artifacts in display cases. On the last display on the first half of the building I was stopped by one of my co-workers. He pointed out that this final artifact, a navigation tool, was hazardous because of the radioactive radium paint. This was a fact I was briefed on weeks earlier but had slipped my mind.
“There are three types of radiation”, he explained, “Alpha, which is pretty calm; Beta, which is a little gnarly but still alright. Finally, with Gamma – you’re screwed!”
Radicals follows this same concept musically. Alpha is simple and serene; the quartet bounces between major triads and slight rhythmic alterations. Beta hinges between cute and troublesome in a squirrely scherzo while Gamma goes off the deep end and is extremely treacherous.
- Matthew Nunes
Orlando, November 2013
For the UCF Horn Studio of Dr. Johnny Pherigo
Premiered April 5th, 2014 by Josie Wisser, Emily Judd, Katie Rudzik, and John Apostolides
Published by Cimarron Music Press
One afternoon while working my summer job at the Air Force Armament Museum in Eglin, Florida, I was asked to dust off some artifacts in display cases. On the last display on the first half of the building I was stopped by one of my co-workers. He pointed out that this final artifact, a navigation tool, was hazardous because of the radioactive radium paint. This was a fact I was briefed on weeks earlier but had slipped my mind.
“There are three types of radiation”, he explained, “Alpha, which is pretty calm; Beta, which is a little gnarly but still alright. Finally, with Gamma – you’re screwed!”
Radicals follows this same concept musically. Alpha is simple and serene; the quartet bounces between major triads and slight rhythmic alterations. Beta hinges between cute and troublesome in a squirrely scherzo while Gamma goes off the deep end and is extremely treacherous.
- Matthew Nunes
Orlando, November 2013
Breaking Day for Two Violins (2012)
Dedicated to Dr. Sun Mi Ro
Premiered October 25th, 2013 by Savannah Adams and Irene Usova (violins)
Breaking Day is a portrait of a relationship in crisis. A simple grudge progresses to confrontation, finally eroding the relationship past the point of no return. Analytically speaking, this piece is constructed on 20th Century techniques. The set (014) is the basic building block, or grundgestalt, of the entire work. This set grows with each movement until its inevitable dissolution.
I. Grudges
- Deeply harbored resentments are allowed to grow.
II. Vitriol
- Confrontation ensues and caustic words are exchanged.
III. Schism
- The moment of hatred has destroyed everything that once existed. The relationship
is over. Perhaps it was for the best?
Dedicated to Dr. Sun Mi Ro
Premiered October 25th, 2013 by Savannah Adams and Irene Usova (violins)
Breaking Day is a portrait of a relationship in crisis. A simple grudge progresses to confrontation, finally eroding the relationship past the point of no return. Analytically speaking, this piece is constructed on 20th Century techniques. The set (014) is the basic building block, or grundgestalt, of the entire work. This set grows with each movement until its inevitable dissolution.
I. Grudges
- Deeply harbored resentments are allowed to grow.
II. Vitriol
- Confrontation ensues and caustic words are exchanged.
III. Schism
- The moment of hatred has destroyed everything that once existed. The relationship
is over. Perhaps it was for the best?
