Neiner, Big Ideas! (2012, rev. 2022)

Big Ideas!

brass quintet (2012, rev. 2022)

Chris Neiner Score

Big Ideas!

brass quintet (2012, rev. 2022)

Chris Neiner

Approximate Duration: 15 Minutes

Program Note:

Big Ideas! is a work which has taken its time to mature—ten years of intermittent revisions across three states and two degree programs by one very persistent composer! It began as a single movement, Brevity is the Soul of Wit, composed for the Copper Street Brass Quintet as part of their 2012 residency with the Schubert Club’s Composition Mentorship Program, an invaluable opportunity for high school composers living near St. Paul, Minnesota. Inspired by the experience, I composed two additional movements to precede the original piece. However, I was an overly ambitious young composer. The music was very challenging and not a good fit for the high school that planned to premiere the work; Big Ideas! was dormant. Over the next several years, I occasionally revised the whole composition. Through all the edits and tweaking, my goal was to enhance the original, youthful spirit of the work. Eventually, my efforts succeeded! I am forever grateful to Dr. Brian Kilp and the Indiana State University Faculty Brass Quintet for premiering Big Ideas!

Opening Big Ideas! is a fast-paced, thrilling overture. A Stream of Consciousness intertwines dynamic melodies, sharp punctuations, and agitated motifs with a Shostakovich-like snark. Free in form, the music passes quickly through ideas, offering surprises that are mischievous and aggressive. At its peak, an impassioned tuba solo is set against fanfare rhythms by trumpets, the whole ensemble propelling to the close. Both virtuosic and raucous, A Stream of Consciousness showcases the amazing pyrotechnics possible in a brass quintet.

Lyricism is the focus of the middle movement, Woe in Beauty. A soulful melody colored by jazz-tinged harmonies is introduced by the flugelhorn and trumpet. Through variations, this melody appears in various guises and moods: mysterious, lively, and solemn. Each iteration features a member of the quintet as a soloist, passing the spotlight around the ensemble. The writing in Woe in Beauty was inspired by jazz standards I learned as a high school student and the theme and variations movement of Stravinsky’s Octet.

“Brevity is the soul of wit,” is a phrase taken from a speech by the character Polonius in Act II of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In his speech, Polonius claims that conciseness, not verbosity, is a sign of wisdom. Similarly, humor often appears more clever when it can be expressed in a brief moment and not a drawn-out jest. The final movement utilizes this idea by creating a flow of events based on quick, witty remarks that are passed around the ensemble. When this instrumental banter reaches a boiling point, it subsides to lush legato brass passages, then returns with more vigor and drive.

Chris Neiner

poco a poco

f f f f

molto deciso molto decisof

più marcato più marcato più marcato

^ ^

Adagio {q=c 60} f

non cresc. non cresc. non cresc.

- Big Ideas! III. Brevity is the Soul of Wit (Score) - 31

Tempo I {q=c 152} J œ > ‰ J œ > ‰ œnj > ‰ œbJ > ‰ œnj > ‰ œbJ > ‰ œnJ > ‰ J œ > ‰ j œ > ‰ œ#j > ‰

Bb Tpt. 1 Bb Tpt. 2 F Hn. Tbn. Tuba

208 œ#J > ‰ œ ˘ œ ˘ œbj > ‰ œn . œ fl œbJ > ‰ œ# fl œ . œ#J > ‰ œn ˘œ ˘ j œ > ‰ œb fl œ fl

> > fl fl > > > >

œ ˘ œ ˘ œ# . > œ ^ œ fl œ# œ œ# ^ œn fl œ . > œb . > œ# ^ œ ˘ œ# ˘ œ ˘ œ ^ œ fl œn fl œ# fl œ ^

Z Z Z Z Z

Œ‰ j œ ∑ Œ‰ œbJ Œ‰ J œ Œ‰ J œ

to straight mute π π π π

˙ ∑ ˙ ˙ ˙

œ œ ∑ œ œb œ œ œ œ

213 p sub. p sub.

ƒ ƒ agitato agitato agitato agitato agitato & & & ? ?

j œ . ^ ‰Œ ∑ œ . ^ œ . œ . œ . œ . ^ œ . œ . œ . j œ . ^ ‰Œ

ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ

ƒ ƒ ƒ

> 8 3 8 3 8 3 8 3 8 3

∑ ∑ ‰ j œ . œ . œ . ‰ J œ . œ . œ . j œ . ‰Œ p