Brass quintet
Encyclopedia
A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instrument
s. The most common instrumentation is two trumpet
s or cornet
s, one horn
, one trombone
or euphonium
/baritone horn
, and one tuba
or bass trombone.
As an ensemble type, the brass quintet is very flexible, with a repertoire encompassing musical genres from madrigal
s to jazz
and everything in between. The instrumentation for a brass quintet is very flexible. Often trumpet
s will double on piccolo trumpet
s and flugelhorn
s. In some pieces the horn
is replaced by a trombone
. In some ensembles a euphonium
substitutes for the trombone part. While a tuba
is considered standard, the range and style of many pieces lends themselves to being played on bass trombone. Additionally some pieces call for the use of percussion instruments, particularly tambourine
, snare drum
and especially timpani
.
The contemporary brass quintet was started in the late 1940s by two different groups operating independently—the Chicago Brass Quintet
and the New York Brass Quintet. Two members of the Chicago Brass Quintet can arguably be credited with helping plant the seed for today's success of the brass quintet medium: Arnold Jacobs
, tubist of the CBQ was teacher to the two founders Daellenbach and Watts of the Canadian Brass
, while Renold Schilke
, trumpet player in the CBQ and master craftsman, was mentor to the entire group, successfully crafting the first-ever matched set of gold-plated quintet brass instruments. Canadian Brass has gone on to establish both the style and popularity of the quintet medium throughout the world having performed more than five thousand concerts and having sold more than 500,000 quintet music books for performers around the world, affirming the rise of the brass quintet as a worldwide phenomenon. The wealth of new music for brass quintet can be attributed to the American Brass Quintet with over 100 premieres of new quintet works.
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
s. The most common instrumentation is two trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s or cornet
Cornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
s, one horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, one trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
or euphonium
Euphonium
The euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced"...
/baritone horn
Baritone horn
The baritone horn is a member of the brass instrument family. The baritone horn has a predominantly cylindrical bore as do the trumpet and trombone. A baritone horn uses a large mouthpiece much like those of a trombone or euphonium, although it is a bit smaller. Some baritone mouthpieces will sink...
, and one tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
or bass trombone.
As an ensemble type, the brass quintet is very flexible, with a repertoire encompassing musical genres from madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
s to jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and everything in between. The instrumentation for a brass quintet is very flexible. Often trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s will double on piccolo trumpet
Piccolo trumpet
The smallest of the trumpet family is the piccolo trumpet, pitched one octave higher than the standard B trumpet. Most piccolo trumpets are built to play in either B or A, using a separate leadpipe for each key. The tubing in the B piccolo trumpet is one-half the length of that in a standard B...
s and flugelhorn
Flugelhorn
The flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
s. In some pieces the horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
is replaced by a trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
. In some ensembles a euphonium
Euphonium
The euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced"...
substitutes for the trombone part. While a tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
is considered standard, the range and style of many pieces lends themselves to being played on bass trombone. Additionally some pieces call for the use of percussion instruments, particularly tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, snare drum
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
and especially timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
.
The contemporary brass quintet was started in the late 1940s by two different groups operating independently—the Chicago Brass Quintet
Chicago Brass Quintet
The Chicago Brass Quintet is a five piece brass quintet from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1963 , and still active today.The quintet's current lineup features:* Ross Beacraft - trumpet* Dan Anderson - tuba* Gregory Flint - horn...
and the New York Brass Quintet. Two members of the Chicago Brass Quintet can arguably be credited with helping plant the seed for today's success of the brass quintet medium: Arnold Jacobs
Arnold Jacobs
Arnold Jacobs was an American orchestral tuba player who was most known as the principal Tubist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1944 until his retirement in 1988....
, tubist of the CBQ was teacher to the two founders Daellenbach and Watts of the Canadian Brass
Canadian Brass
The Canadian Brass is a brass quintet founded by Dr. Charles Daellenbach and Gene Watts in 1970. In addition to maintaining a heavy international touring schedule, the Canadian Brass have recorded over 80 CDs and DVDs...
, while Renold Schilke
Renold Schilke
Renold Otto Schilke was a professional orchestral trumpet player, instrument designer and manufacturer. He founded and ran Schilke Music Products Incorporated, a manufacturer of brass instruments and mouthpieces.-Youth:...
, trumpet player in the CBQ and master craftsman, was mentor to the entire group, successfully crafting the first-ever matched set of gold-plated quintet brass instruments. Canadian Brass has gone on to establish both the style and popularity of the quintet medium throughout the world having performed more than five thousand concerts and having sold more than 500,000 quintet music books for performers around the world, affirming the rise of the brass quintet as a worldwide phenomenon. The wealth of new music for brass quintet can be attributed to the American Brass Quintet with over 100 premieres of new quintet works.
Examples of notable brass quintets
- Age of Brass
- American Brass QuintetAmerican Brass QuintetWhen the American Brass Quintet gave its first public performance on December 11, 1960, brass chamber music was still relatively unknown to concert audiences...
- Annapolis Brass QuintetAnnapolis Brass QuintetThe Annapolis Brass Quintet was a brass quintet founded by trumpet player David Cran and trombone player Robert Posten in 1971 as America's first full-time performing brass ensemble. During the course of its 22-year career through 1993, it played concerts in all fifty states and throughout Europe,...
- Atlantic Brass QuintetAtlantic Brass QuintetThe Boston-based Atlantic Brass Quintet is a five-piece chamber music ensemble which was founded in 1985, by John Manning, Joseph Foley, John Faieta and Bob Rasmussen...
- Boston Brass
- Canadian BrassCanadian BrassThe Canadian Brass is a brass quintet founded by Dr. Charles Daellenbach and Gene Watts in 1970. In addition to maintaining a heavy international touring schedule, the Canadian Brass have recorded over 80 CDs and DVDs...
- Carolina BrassCarolina BrassCarolina Brass is the name chosen by two different brass quintets based in North Carolina.Carolina Brass in CharlotteCarolina Brass was founded in 1980 by four principal brass musicians of the Charlotte Symphony and a professor of music at Davidson College...
- Chestnut Brass CompanyChestnut Brass CompanyThe Grammy winning Chestnut Brass Company was founded in 1977 to advance the art and skills of musical performance and the knowledge and understanding of musical history with an emphasis on brass instruments...
- Chicago Brass QuintetChicago Brass QuintetThe Chicago Brass Quintet is a five piece brass quintet from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1963 , and still active today.The quintet's current lineup features:* Ross Beacraft - trumpet* Dan Anderson - tuba* Gregory Flint - horn...
- Copper Street Brass Quintet
- Dallas BrassDallas BrassThe Dallas Brass is a brass quintet started by Michael Levine in 1983. Its repertoire contains patriotic music, classical, and romantic, among others....
- Empire BrassEmpire BrassThe Empire Brass is a brass quintet from the United States. Current members include:* Rolf Smedvig, trumpet* Marc Brian Reese, trumpet* Michelle Perry, French horn* Mark Hetzler, trombone* Kenneth Amis, tuba...
- Gaudete Brass
- Hoodlebug Brass
- Itter BrassItter BrassItter Brass is a brass quintet from the Netherlands, founded in 1999.Current / founding members, playing together since 1999:* Stefan Höppner, trumpet* Ronald Schroijen, trumpet* Harold Geurtjes, trumpet,piccolo* Jack Munnecom, French horn...
- Mediterranean Chamber Brass
- Meridian Arts EnsembleMeridian Arts EnsembleThe Meridian Arts Ensemble is an American chamber music ensemble based in New York City, specializing in the performance of new works for brass and percussion.-History:The Meridian Arts Ensemble was founded in 1987...
- New Age Brass
- New York Brass Quintet
- Oompah Brass
- Philip Jones Brass EnsemblePhilip Jones Brass EnsembleThe Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, founded in 1951 by trumpeter Philip Jones, was one of the first modern classical brass ensembles to be formed. The group played either as a quintet or as a ten-piece, for larger halls...
- Presidio BrassPresidio BrassPresidio Brass is a brass quintet based in San Diego, California. Founded in 2006 primarily as a vehicle for promoting music education, the ensemble has become perhaps equally known for their work on the concert stage...
- Smoky Mountain Brass QuintetSmoky Mountain Brass QuintetHighlights* Quintet In Residence at Western Carolina University* Performance in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City* International Tour of Germany* International Tour of China* International Tour of St...
- Synergy QuintetSynergy QuintetSynergy Brass Quintet is a group of five brass musicians based in Boston, Massachusetts. They formed in 1996, and are known for their performances of a variety of musical genres, from classical to ska and everything in between. Synergy was also the Quintet-in-Residence at Boston University's...
- Today's Brass Quintet