Changes – Brass Sextet

M.F.K. Fisher, in her book The Gastronomical Me, wrote poignant stories of her life and career based on memorable meals and her experiences with food. When asked by Julia Child why she chose food and hunger for these stories, Mrs. Fisher replied, “When I write about hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth, and the richness and fine reality of a hunger satisfied.”

Changes tries to capture that warmth and richness and reality musically. The titles of the three movements are chapter titles from this book, with the music reflecting the many changes that are an inevitable part of living.

The first two movements are both slow and reflective. In the first movement each instrument has something to say and shares it with the others, with the resulting interchanges both bitter and sweet. The second movement, dreamlike as suggested by the title, recalls big dreams as well as little dreams—success, frustration and finally satisfaction. The final movement is playful and at times humorous, with a flurry of notes and amusing syncopations, a drastic change from the first two movements. The ending, with tongue in cheek and consideration of the meter used, is indeed a feminine ending in the classical sense as it does end on the second beat.

The sample score shows the first page of each of the three movements. At this time there is no recording available.

Composer: Anne McGinty
Instrumentation: Trumpet, 2 Horns, 2 Trombones & Tuba
Duration/# of Pages: ca. 9:30 / 44 pages, 8.5″ x 11″
Key: N/A