Book (PDF)
Sonata meccanica, for Solo Euphonium
Composed by Ken'ichi Masakado (正門研一)
Duration:
I. Attivo (ca 2’40”)
II. Meditativo (ca 4’35”)
III. Ritmico (ca 1’50”)
Publisher:Golden Hearts Publications(ONSA)
Program notes:
In this piece, the sounds are connected according to a certain rule (pitch relationship). The basic musical material (five-note sequence) is also used in my work "Pilgrimage: Spring for Violin, Violoncello and Piano" (Golden Hearts Publications), but it is not related to other musical material as in "Pilgrimage: Spring", and this work consists of only the basic five-note sequence. The sequence of notes itself is "regular" and "mechanical," but the rhythm and dynamics are relatively free and somehow "emotional”. There is no sweet, beautiful melody here, but the intervals of minor 2nd and perfect 4th (or their turned intervals, major 7th and perfect 5th) that make up the sequence give a faint glow to the whole piece.
In performance:
In each movement, rehearsal marks are given every five measures, but they are not necessarily the beginning of a phrase (they are almost never the same). The entire movement is written in triple time, but there are many situations where it is better not to be overly concerned with the time signature. There are many situations where it would be better not to be overly concerned with the meter, so please do not "mechanically" fit the music into triple time.
The much-used fermata has a variety of expressive possibilities. It may involve not only the notes and rests to which the fermata is attached, but also the movement of the notes before and after them.
(Ken'ichi Masakado)
Reference music:
Instrumentation:
Euphonium