I wrote the first of these two fanfares for Carl Albach of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s during their Caramoor summer festival where it was customary for a few of the orchestra’s brass players to play a fanfare signaling the end of intermission.
Fanfare No. 1 features antiphonal writing – call and response between the two trumpets – and I used the old trick of creating a “shout out” to someone by making a musical representation of their name in pitch. C-A-R-L becomes the notes C-A-D (for Re)-A (for La). It’s one of the fanfare’s main motives and a nice way of saying “hello!” to Carl.
Later I added Fanfare No. 2 with the idea that each half of a summer concert program could begin with its own fanfare, creating “bookends.” This fanfare is predominately a single melodic line hocketed (divided, or bounced) between the two instruments. It is a short, fast, funky, virtuosic piece designed to show off the trumpet’s agility.
A version of these works also exists for two trombones.
