The musical compositions of Richard Burdick
Follow on Twitter

Opus 86

Wailing
for horn, piano & tape (21 minutes)

1995

Find the recording on BandCamp

Buy the sheet music from MusicaNeo SOON or contact

Buy the sheet music directly from Richard.
Pay by paypal and get a pdf sent by e-mail
SOON or contact

As heard on Richard Burdick's first CD

Premiered at the Davis Arts Center (Davis, California) May 1995

In Four movements:
1) Allegro moderato - 5:07
2) Andante - 8:50
3) Adagio - 4:36
4) Vivace - 2:15

Wailing was written for two reasons, I wanted to write something loud featuring the horn, and I need to explore some sadness that I felt going through a divorce. This work was written with the natural (hand) horn in mind although it has not received a premiere on the original instrument, I have performed it on modern horn with computer, no piano.

Movement 1 is a study into the contrast between the scale C, Db, D#, E, F, Gb, Ab and scale B,C,D,E,F,G,Ab. The second scale I is used in four modulations with roots on B, G#, F, and D. The polyrhythms 3:4 and 8:9 are featured prominently. I am sure this work houses thoughts on contrasting open and closed sounds on the horn.

Movement two explores a more minimal concept. Using the chart on the next page of the possible orders of five tones, I went through and constructed the piece by presenting the first tone of each row, then the first two , three four and the five, then I believe I want back decreasingly. This is obvious with the increasingly fast rhythms & the type of polyrhythm.

In the third movement. I am moving away from my sadness and have written a minuet, trio form using the contrast of the open and closed tones on the horn to construct the melody, within certain scale limitations.

The fourth movement is a parody on the horn "carillon" theme from L'Arlesienne of George Bizet in two different keys. Once again there are sections of the open tones and sections of the closed tones all put into a fabric of accelerating and decelerating modes.

For the official CD and sheet music release. I have re-mastered the tape part nd recorded a valve horn performance of the work and a version on natural horn.

This is originally written for natural horn in low C. It is quite difficult, but with diligence this can be performed. The style of writing for the natural horn plays better when approached like a modern player trying to play the NH and not in any way a classical style piece. The stopped tones should sound stopped!