Happenstance
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Subtitle: Concertino for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble
General Info
Year: 2022
Duration: c. 12:25
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Stephan Hodel
Cost: Score and Parts - Unknown
Movements
1. Devious Tango
2. Aria
3. Elegant Bossa
Instrumentation
(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Happenstance, a coincidence or chance situation, is a reference to a harmonic idea which this piece is based upon. The concept of Random Harmony, developed by the American jazz pianist Kenny Werner, combines a random sequence of bass notes with random chord qualities (e.g., lydian, maj7#5 or symmetric dominant). Through voice leading and melody, these chords, which are rather alien to each other, are now connected and formed into musical phrases. The resulting continuum creates unexpected sounds and chord progressions that repeatedly deceive the listener’s expectation and provide surprising moments.
To counteract the random element and to achieve musical continuity, more traditional and square forms, such as a tango or a bossa nova, are used. The three characteristically different movements give the soloist the opportunity to showcase the diverse facets of the instrument, from the marching and fanfare like, to the recitative singing, to the dance-like and rhythmic qualities in the final movement. The work exploits all the lyrical resources of the trumpet, using a subtle and sophisticated harmonic language, halfway between modern jazz and musical styles related to the popular dances and cabaret, close to Kurt Weill and music hall.
The work was composed in the winter of 2021/22 after a lengthy study phase with Kenny Werner and is dedicated to the trumpeter Giuliano Sommerhalder, the Berne Symphonic Wind Orchestra (SIBO) and its conductor, Rolf Schumacher.
- Program Note from Sinfonisches Blasorchester Bern concert program, 22 July 2022
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Sinfonisches Blasorchester Bern (Switzerland) (Rolf Schumacher, conductor; Giuliano Sommerhalder, trumpet) – 22 July 2022 (WASBE Conference, Prague, Czech Republic) *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by this Composer
- Episodes (2010)
- Happenstance (2022)
- Interplay (2006)
- Der letzte Schmitt (2012)
- Lines, etc (2006)
- Wodie’s Delight (2008)
Resources
- "HAPPENSTANCE, Concertino for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble by Stephan Hodel (Switzerland, 1973)." WASBE. Web. (Featured as WASBE’s Composition of the Week, 5 September 2022). Accessed 4 January 2023
- Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Hodel, Stephan." Accessed 10 August 2022
- Stephan Hodel website – Accessed 10 August 2022