St. Mary’s Brass
Instrumentation: 2 Trumpets (Bb) and 2 snare drums
Duration: 2:00
Commission: National Symphony Orchestra Hechinger Commission
Premiere: 11/30/95
National Symphony Orchestra
The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
Program Note:
Hearing the Call was inspired by the music of call and response heard in many settings, ranging from religious to jazz. The music is tossed back and forth, with partners forming, shifting, and rejoining one another. The antiphonal pairings of the trumpet and snare drum stationed on each side of the stage are central, though others emerge, including a duet for the two drums. The instrumentation of brass and percussion and the brightly colored harmony animate this fanfare. Hearing the Call was recorded by St. Mary’s Brass, led by trumpeter Jeffrey Silberschlag on a CD of brass music named for this piece. It also includes my Fantasìa Sobre El Flamenco for brass quintet. For more information visit www.judithshatin.com. –JS
Press Quote:
“…Judith Shatin’s two-minute Hearing the Call – smartly, crisply scored for two trumpets and two snare drums – is the eponymous work for this collection, and is the perfect ceremonial attention-getter. She follows this work up with Fantasía sobre el Flamenco for two trumpets, two trombones, and tuba (1998), a clash of bright and dark melodies borne by regimented and free-flowing rhythms.”
–Fanfare