Instrumentation: Duo with CD accompaniment.
Available in 5 different versions: (accompaniment is identical for all versions)
1) trombone and tuba (or euphonium or bass trb. as tuba substitute)
3) flute with tuba (or euphonium or bass trb. as tuba substitute)
3) oboe with tuba (or euphonium or bass trb. as tuba substitute)
4) trombone with clarinet
2) trombone with flute
Copyright: 2000 (versions involving flute & clarinet were created in 2011)
Duration: ca. 8 minutes
Range: FF to d-1 for tuba, C to c-2 for trombone
Difficulty: III
Publisher: Nicolai Music
Price: $20** (includes accompaniment CD and printed music with acc. cues)*
*please designate instrumentation because all 4 versions are different from one another (although all use the identical accompaniment CD)
**PLUS ADDITIONAL SAVINGS: BUY ANY 2 PIECES WITH CD ACCOMPANIMENT & RECEIVE A 3RD PIECE WITH CD ACC. FREE!
a great opportunity to add to your music library!
Other Info: The original version, for trombone and tuba duo with CD, was premiered by Neal Corwell and Velvet Brown at International Tuba Euphonium Association Conference in Regina, Canada, 2000. The other four versions were created in 2011 and 2021.
TO PURCHASE
The inspiration for Quiet Mountain was the view, through the early morning fog, of Mt. Eniwadake, as seen across the smooth waters of Lake Shikotsu. It was in a Japanese National Park on the island of Hokkaido that the composer had the privilege of witnessing this beautiful and quiet scene. In 1994, Neal Corwell had been invited to Sapporo, Japan as guest artist at a music camp, and it was during the last few hours of his visit that he traveled through the park, escorted by his host Chitate Kagawa and his wife Sachiko. The composer has attempted to capture within the music three things: the natural beauty and solitude of the scene, his respect for the traditions of the Japanese people, and his feelings of nostalgia at having to depart from a country where he had been received with much warmth and graciousness.
Although originally intended as a duo for trombone and tuba, the nature of the piece makes the euphonium a viable substitute for the tuba. The composer has also created a version in which two euphoniums join the trombone to form a trio, and in 2011, three new versions, involving flute and clarinet, were published. All incarnations of the work use the same CD accompaniment. Technical challenges are few because the emphasis is on free lyrical expression. As the accompaniment provides a sustained and subtly shifting backdrop, the live performers answer one another freely and unhurriedly. For only one brief section in the middle of the piece is there a regular metered pulse, and drum beats heard during this section make it easy for the performers to synchronize with the recorded accompaniment. There is a loud dramatic climax at the end of the metered section, but all else is quiet and ethereal.