Small Ensemble Drum Set,Horn,Trombone,Trumpet,Vibraphone - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.881262 Composed by Gary Powell Nash. Contemporary. Score and parts. 133 pages. Gary Powell Nash #6137361. Published by Gary Powell Nash (A0.881262). Brass Magnolia Suite (1999) for trumpet, horn, bass trombone and percussion was largely inspired by Gary Powell Nash’s residency in Mississippi, the Magnolia State from 1996-2003. Being that Mississippi, particularly the northwest part of the state known to most as the Mississippi Delta, is very rich in musical traditions, Nash chose to use some of these same traditions as the basis and major premise for his composition. For the most part, Brass Magnolia Suite is based on Mississippi Delta blues tunes and bird songs of those indigenous to the region. Such birds include the mockingbird, wood thrush, common crackle and the meadowlark. For Nash’s utilizations of these bird songs, as well as blues tunes, he took rhythms and melodic contours of each and manufactured melodies and motives of his own. While Brass Magnolia Suite is not meant to be programmatic, the five movements, which are arranged in a traditional fast-slow-fast-slow-fast format, all depict either a particular experience for Nash or a natural occurrence in Mississippi. The first movement, Fanfare, is based on the mockingbird’s song. The second movement, Homage to the Armadillos, incorporates the song of the wood thrush. The third movement, Catfishery, is supported by the tune Catfish Blues and the common grackle’s song. The fourth movement, Song of the Meadowlark, is exactly what it suggests and the fifth movement, The Gospel, is based on the gospel blues tune John, the Revelator.
