Instrumentation:
solo brass instrument (euphonium, tuba, trombone, trumpet, or horn)
plus added live electronics
Copyright: 2001
Duration: ca. 3:40
Range: F to g-1 (euphonium or trombone range)
Difficulty: II-III
Publisher: Nicolai Music
Price: $20 for score/part, explanatory/performance notes, plus a CD with recorded performances as a reference source.
• When ordering, please specify if requesting the bass clef (for tuba, euphonium or trombone), or treble clef (euphonium or trumpet), or French Horn (in F) versions of the work.
Other Info: Premiered by Dr. Corwell at the University of Michigan during a September 2001 college tour.
Please note: Dusk can be performed in any key or range. To perform it in a different key, one only needs to transpose the “drone” tone accordingly.
ADDITIONAL SAVINGS: BUY THIS PIECE, PLUS ONE MORE, & YOU MAY RECEIVE A 3RD PIECE WITH CD ACC. FREE!
a great opportunity to add to your music library!
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To view a video performance of Dusk by the composer, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehgeKGrGx5E
Dusk is an adaptation, for soloist with live electronics, of a work originally published as an unaccompanied solo. Dr. Corwell’s first work ever published was Four Short Narratives for solo euphonium, which was published by TUBA PRESS in 1981. Each of the narratives depicted a different time of day and Dusk was the third of the four movements. The fourth movement of the Narratives, titled Night, has also been used as the starting point for a new composition: Fantasy on Night.
The overall mood of Dusk is dark and ethereal. The solo part is not technically challenging, but does give the soloist ample opportunity for melodic expression. Aside from a couple of optional pedal tones, the range is quite conservative. A video performance of this composition was recorded by the composer in 2022. Please see the link above.
Listening to a live performance, one may get the impression that a complex electronic set-up is required, but this is not the case. The soloist plays into a microphone, which feeds a mixer, which then blends the solo with a distortion effect (which typically is added by using a guitar stomp box with an expression pedal). A simple one-note sustained “drone” note is also added to support the soloist at the start and conclusion of the work. This drone, which may be played on a synth or piano, may be performed by an assistant, or even by the soloist if he or she has a hand free! When Dr. Corwell performs the piece, he uses a specific vintage device, an Alesis Air FX, which he controls with his left hand in a theremin-like fashion, to create the drone, and he controls the distortion effect(s) with his feet. However, one does not need an Alesis Air FX to perform the piece, nor does one need to do everything without an assistant. If desired, the soloist could play only the solo part, but is suggested they also use a foot pedal to add the distortion because it is such an integral part of the piece.
Because there is no pre-recorded accompaniment, the soloist has a tremendous amount of interpretive freedom, and because the added effects can react with the soloist in so many different subtle ways, no two performances are exactly the same. This is refreshing. Although there is no pre-recorded accompaniment, a CD containing recorded examples of live performances by Dr. Corwell is included as a reference for those preparing their own rendition of the work. Ample detailed and helpful performance and explanatory notes are provided, along with the printed music.
When ordering, please specify if requesting the bass clef (for tuba, euphonium or trombone), or treble clef (euphonium or trumpet), or French Horn (in F) versions of the work. Also, bear in mind that Dusk can be performed in any key or range. To perform it in a different key, one only needs to transpose the “drone” tone accordingly.