Eric Ewazen (b. 1954)
Recordings
- 1992 – New American Brass (American Brass Quintet)
- 1998 – Street Song (Center City Brass Quintet)
- 1998 – Caged (Skyline Brass Quintet)
- 2000 – Daydreams, Desires & Diversions (Lyric Brass Quintet)
- 2001 – Brass Calendar (Custom Brass Quintet)
- 2009 – Windswept (US Air Force Heartland of America Brass Quintet)
General Info
Year composed: 1987
Approximate duration: 16′ 00″
Publisher: Southern Music Company (Lauren Keiser Music)
Cost: $49.95 – Score and Parts (print)
Southern Music – Colchester Fantasy
Difficulty:
Movements
- The Rose and the Crown – 3′ 50″
- The Marquis of Granby – 5′ 40″
- The Dragoon – 4′ 00″
- The Red Lion – 4′ 30″
Instrumentation
- Full score
- Trumpet 1 in C (alternate part for B flat trumpet provided)
- Trumpet 2 in C (alternate part for B flat trumpet provided)
- Horn
- Trombone (bass clef throughout)
- Bass Trombone or Tuba
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Commission
American Brass Quintet
Premiere
American Brass Quintet
Program Notes
Colchester Fantasy was written during the summer of 1987 while I was teaching at the Estherwood Music Festival in Chidester, England. Colchester is among the oldest cities in Britain with an old Roman wall, a massive Norman castle, picturesque homes and churches, and, as in all decent English towns, colorful old pubs. Each movement in this work is named after one of the old Colchester pubs.
The first movement “The Rose and Crown” is filled with bright, sonorous chords, energetic rhythmic patterns, and constantly changing and fluctuating motives. The second movement “The Marquis of Granby” (a name I associated with distant, faded aristocracy) is a stately, chorale-like movement with somber, plaintive themes. The third movement, “The Dragoon,” brings forth the sounds of battle with dissonant, clashing harmonies, agitated rhythms, and fragmented melodies. To close the work, the fourth movement, “The Red Lion” (a name intimating royalty and nobility) is a resonant fugue, propelled forward with motoric motion and a rapid, spinning fugue theme.
The old English pubs of Colchester were a fine source of inspiration. Their names brought to my mind images of ancient and historical traditions and impressions of grandeur and majesty of times past. The beer was good, too!
– program note by the composer from the publication
Works for Brass Ensemble by Eric Ewazen
- Colchester Fantasy (1987) for brass quintet
- Frost Fire (1990) for brass quintet
- Symphony in Brass (1991) for brass ensemble
- Shadowcatcher (1996) concerto for brass quintet and orchestra (also wind ensemble and piano)
- Philharmonic Fanfare (1997) for trumpet, horn, and trombone
- Thanatos (1977) for brass quintet
- A Western Fanfare (1997) for brass ensemble
- A Western Fanfare (1997) for brass quintet
- Grand Valley Fanfare (2001) for brass quintet
- Front Range Fanfare (2003) for brass ensemble
- Balkanika – Four Scenes from the Balkans (2011) for brass quintet
- Bachauer Fanfare
- Hamamatsu Overture
for Trumpet Ensemble
- Concert Fanfare (2000) for 6 trumpets
- Fantasia for Seven Trumpets (2003)
- Prelude and Fugue for Trumpet Choir (2000) for 6 trumpets
- Sonoran Desert Harmonies (2003) for 6 trumpets
- Sonoran Desert Harmonies for 8 trumpets
for Horn Ensemble
- Grand Canyon Octet (1996) for 8 horns
- High Desert Octet (2002) for 8 horns
- Legend of the Sleeping Bear (2001) for 8 horns
- Woodland Quartet (2003) for 4 horns
for Trombone Ensemble
- Capriccio for Bass Trombone and Trombone Choir (1999)
- Concertino for Bass Trombone and Trombone Choir (1996)
- Dagon II (1980) for 9 trombones
- Fantasia and Double Fugue for Trombone Choir (1997) for 8 trombones
- Grand Canyon Octet (1996) for 8 trombones
- Great Lakes Fanfare (2002) for 8 trombones
- Myths and Legends (2000) for trombone quartet
- Posaunenstadt (2000) for 12 trombones