Fanfare Canzonique - Brian Balmages

Hello,

Today's post is about a hybrid piece of music combining a masterwork from the Renaissance and a masterwork from the Twentieth Century: Brian Balmages's Fanfare Canzonique.


Brian Balmages


Here is my brief biography of Mr. Balmages. Brian Balmages received a bachelor’s degree from James Madison University and a master’s degree from the University of Miami. Balmages’s compositions have been performed worldwide and showcased at events such as the College Band Directors National Association’s regional and national conferences, the Midwest Clinic, the International Trombone Festival and the International Trumpet Guild Conference. His commissions range from elementary school band to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Balmages studied trumpet with Gilbert Johnson, James Klueser and Don Tison. He continues to perform as a freelance musician and has performed with the Florida Chamber Orchestra, the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, the Miami Symphony Orchestra and Skyline Brass. Balmages is also active as a guest conductor.

Here is my brief synopsis of the piece itself. Fanfare Canzonique was composed in memory of Gilbert Johnson, one of Balmages’s trumpet teachers. Mr. Johnson served as principal trumpet of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1958 to 1975. After leaving the Philadelphia Orchestra, Johnson became professor of trumpet at the University of Miami. Balmages based his Fanfare Canzonique on two of Johnson’s iconic recordings: The Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli and Pines of Rome. The former inspired the opening and closing sections of the fanfare with references to Giovanni Gabrieli’s Canzona per sonare, No. 2. The latter influenced the middle section of the fanfare and the antiphonal brass emulate the off-stage trumpet solo in Respighi’s Pines of Rome.

Gilbert Johnson (1927-2002)

Here are several performances of Fanfare Canzonique by Baylor, Texas Christian University, and Florida All-State Symphonic Band.

Comments

  1. Jordan BoehmApril 15, 2018 at 8:34 PM

    I have actually had the chance to speak with Brian Balmages a few times, and even had him as a conductor in a reading band. What sticks out to me in his writing, and the way he talks about the works, is his devotion to education. He is big into the idea that younger players and groups can handle more inventive and intensive harmonies than just the standard major and minor triads. This ideal paired with an innate musicality have led to a number of directors I know programming many of his works. Fanfare Canzonique is another great example of an innovative way to advance musical understanding (and historical perspective) while enticing younger players and audiences.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dodworth Saxhorn Band

Image
This post is about another period-specific group: The Dodworth Saxhorn Band. So you probably are familiar with the horn and are probably familiar with the saxophone - so what is a saxhorn? Adolphe Sax (1814-1894) was a Belgian inventor who contributed a lot to music throughout his innovations. The saxophone family, his invention, is named after him. He also influenced the development of the tuba and euphonium via other instruments like his saxhorns . Wikipedia  also has some interesting information. So, now that everyone knows about saxhorns, I would like to introduce the Dodworth Saxhorn Band. The Dodworth Saxhorn Band in period dress. The Dodworth Saxhorn Band  is modeled after a similarly-named Dodworth band that was well-respected ensemble whose heyday was in New York City from 1840 to 1880. This ensemble was reborn in 1985 thanks to the avid instrument collector Alexander Pollock. Today's Dodworth Saxhorn Band is based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The band only uses
Read more

Rayner Brown

Image
Rayner Brown was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1912. At age 14, Brown would move to California and live there for the rest of his life. He attended the University of Southern California where he completed a B.M. in organ and a M.M. in composition. He studied with Hanns Eisler and Lucien Cailliet. He would go on to teach at Biola University for thirty years until his retirement in 1977. Brown's primary instrument was the organ therefore he maintained various church positions as well some notable leader positions in organ guilds. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that much of his compositional output involves the organ. His catalogue includes over two-hundred compositions including a Requiem Mass for Winnie the Pooh. Throughout his career,  Brown was asked to compose numerous commissions, received multiple Ford Foundation grants and was even the recipient of ASCAP awards for a surprising fifteen years straight. Rayner Brown  passed away in 1999. The Music of Rayner Brown - Los Ang
Read more

Garden Rain - Toru Takemitsu

Image
Toru Takemitsu  (1930-1996) was a Japanese composer. He first heard Western art music when a military officer played a record for him and his fellow soldiers. After the war, in 1948, Takemitsu began studying composition with Kiyose. Takemitsu would remain largely self-taught in all things composition. Toru Takemitsu Takemitsu's greatest influences include Debussy and Messiaen. The timeless quality of their music can be heard in his music. Like them, he composed music with ambiguity: using modal melodies to mask the harmony for example. His 1957 Requiem caught the attention of Igor Stravinsky and this helped Takemitsu receive more recognition. Toru Takemitsu In 1964, he was invited to contribute to a series of lectures in Hawai'i by the East West Center. Another composer present, one who was a generation older than Takemitsu, was John Cage . The two exchanged many ideas but interestingly, Takemitsu was already employing some of Cage's most unique approaches: ind
Read more