Beacons for Euphonium Quartet (Print & Ship)
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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
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
