SKU: A0.912507

In writing the Ricercare In B Flat Major For Brass Orchestra, it came to my attention the works of Giovanni Gabrielli, Palestrina and other composers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The fugues of Johann Sebastien Bach and his contemporaries are the descendants of the ricercare in that the themes are treated contrapuntally. The main feature in the ricercare and the fugue is the melodic imitation of the principal theme. Unlike the fugues of Bach that includes the countersubject, the ricercare has no regular countermelody to provide musical interest to the theme. Another feature to discover in the Ricercare In B Flat Major is the concerto nature, where the trumpet ensemble plays against instruments of lower pitch registration and the French horn chorus plays against instruments of different tone colors. The concluding section of the piece includes all instruments playing together.

In performing the work, the brass orchestra performs together on stage. There also may be a possibility of having the work performed in different parts of a hall to give listeners an idea of the concerto-like works of Gabrielli’s sacred symphonies. This idea may be decided at the discretion of the conductor and the ensemble.

The work is suitable for concert use and may be used to teach students the compositional techniques composers of previous centuries used in composing their works.