Instrumentation brass trio (Bb trumpet, F horn, trombone)

Timing 10′ in five movements

Composed 1989, revised 1996

World Premiere March 29, 1991, Kulas Hall, The Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland, Ohio. Michael Cox, trumpet; Jocelyn Diklich, horn; Roger Wight, trombone

Programme Notes

For Openers…
We Regret To Inform You…
The Trouble With You Is…
If I May Make One Small Suggestion…
This Will Only Take A Minute…

Five Portentous Preludes for brass trio began life as “One Portentous Prelude,” written for a friend and colleague who was very excited that he had learned to simultaneously hum and play the French horn. The work was then expanded into this set of five character pieces. The titles of the individual movements are phrases we have all heard (usually too often), that, in spite of their apparent innocuousness, have the power to instantaneously instill an overwhelming dread over what the rest of the sentence will be. I leave it to your own imagination and experience to supply the narratives for each of these scenarios.

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