Gatti's Polonaise
After writing my first piece for full concert band (a march which deserves no mention here!) I got busy and composed a cornet solo with band accompaniment. The solo part is based on a study in a classic 1914 cornet method book by Domenico Gatti. After twenty years of playing it, I realized that I had started to hear backup chords and band voicing as I played! After a slow introduction, the main theme is written as a polonaise. That is why I entitled it "Gatti's Polonaise." The solo lasts about four minutes, and is playable by advanced high school or college players. Full band parts (see score sample below). Price for solo and full band: $50.00, includes shipping. (International buyers will be asked to add an additional $6.00 shipping cost.)
FOR AN MP3 OF THIS PIECE, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT bob_latorre@hotmail.com. Thanks.
To see a sample page of the score, plus the entire cornet solo, please click here.
Cascadia
I consider this piece to be my masterwork (well, at least so far!). This is another cornet solo with full concert band backup. This time, the solo part is all my original composition. It's a bit more challenging than Gatti's Polonaise, and lasts almost eight minutes. It follows the classic theme-and-variations format of many cornet solos from the "golden age" of cornetists of the 1800's. It is playable for advanced high school or college trumpet or cornet players. I also wrote an "easier" solo part for less advanced players. Check out the PDF of the first page of the score for band instrumentation. Also take a look at the solo, all five pages of it, just to play for fun! I hope you enjoy it. (For playing tips, especially the double-pedal notes, email me!) Price for solo and full band: $75.00, includes shipping. (International buyers will be asked to add an additional $6.00 shipping cost.)
FOR AN MP3 OF THIS PIECE, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT bob_latorre@hotmail.com. Thanks.
For a sample score page, plus entire copies of both versions (easy and hard) of the solo part please click here.
Cascadia for Orchestra
Cascadia was so well received when I performed it with my "home" band (The North Cascades Concert Band, based in Skagit County, WA), that I re-scored it for symphony orchestra and performed it with my "home" classical group, the Bayshore Music Project, also based in Skagit County. The solo cornet part is the same as for the band arrangement. I found that I really liked the symphony sound to back up the cornet. I thought it had a sweeter sound than the band, and the audience loved it! Price for solo and full orchestra: $75.00, includes shipping. (International buyers will be asked to add an additional $6.00 shipping cost.)
FOR AN MP3 OF THIS PIECE, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT bob_latorre@hotmail.com. Thanks.
For a sample score page, plus entire copies of both versions (easy and hard) of the solo part please click here.
Cascadia for Piano and Cornet
For those who would rather perform Cascadia as a trumpet or cornet recital piece, here is a version for piano accompaniment only. All the color, nuances, and excitement of the full band and orchestra versions can be had in a simpler arrangement. Both the regular and easy versions of the solo are included, along with the piano score. Price: $25.00. (International buyers will be asked to add an additional $6.00 shipping cost.)
For a sample score page, plus entire copies of both versions (easy and hard) of the solo part please click here.
FOR AN MP3 OF THIS PIECE, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT bob_latorre@hotmail.com. Thanks.
The Great Mother Lode March
In July 2004 I traveled to my home town in the Mother Lode region of California. There I performed Gatti's Polonaise with my brother's community band, called The Great Mother Lode Brass and Reed Band, based in Columbia, CA. The home crowd, of course, went wild! I was so inspired that as soon as I returned home to Washington, I began composing a march to dedicate to this band, and I of course called it The Great Mother Lode March. As I assembled the melodies, I started putting together a story, or "program," for the music: a "Forty-Niner" miner travels to the Mother Lode region to seek his fortune. We first hear his excitement as he reads a handbill claiming "Thar's gold in them thar hills." Next we hear his jouncy trip across the prairies to get to the California gold fields, followed by his pick and shovel at work as he whistles a happy tune (depicted by a baritone solo), the cascading waters of the stream where he's staked his claim, and his exultation at making a gold strike to fill his poke. Standard concert band or marching band march format, and a fun tune. Price for full band: $50.00, includes shipping. (International buyers will be asked to add an additional $6.00 shipping cost.) FOR AN MP3 OF THIS PIECE, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT bob_latorre@hotmail.com. Thanks.
For a sample score page, please click here. For the baritone part containing the solo, click here. For the first cornet part, click here.
Ciao Bella
This is my first composition for brass quintet. I took another piece by Domcnico Gatti, this time a cornet duet, and fleshed it out into a quintet. It has such an Italian sound that I titled it using a familiar, catch-all Italian phrase. (In case you don't know, "Ciao Bella" is an affectionate way of saying goodbye, and "ciao" is pronounced "chow".) Like many of Gatti's pieces, it starts out slow, then goes into a bouncy 3/4 time. This piece is playable by professional, college, and advanced high school brass quintets. Duration: about four minutes. Price for brass quintet: $30.00, includes shipping. (International buyers will be asked to add an additional $6.00 shipping cost.)
FOR AN MP3 OF THIS PIECE, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT bob_latorre@hotmail.com. Thanks.
To see the first two score pages, and the first trumpet part, please click here.
Au Fond du Temple Saint
My brother John plays the baritone and is an opera buff. His favorite duet is the popular "Au Fond du Temple Saint" from Bizet's opera The Pearl Fishers. At John's request I used Bizet's original score to arrange the duet for two baritones (the instruments, not the voices!) and concert band. I lowered the pitch of the piece by a fourth to better accommodate the baritone's range. It was a real pleasure to arrange and present a piece that captures all the emotion of grand opera in a concert band setting. And John was very thankful!
Price for score and parts: $40.00. (International buyers will be asked to add an additional $6.00 shipping cost.)
FOR AN MP3 OF THIS PIECE, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT bob_latorre@hotmail.com. Thanks.
To see the first two score pages, plus the first baritone solo part, please click here.
Six Trumpets Rag
In 2003, the North Cascades Concert Band celebrated its tenth anniversary. I was asked to compose a piece to commemorate the occasion. I chose to write a ragtime piece, to accommodate the motley assortment of instruments played by the eleven original members of the band. I later converted this piece into a piece for just six trumpets and concert band. It's high-energy, challenging, and lots of fun! Advanced high school and college trumpeters can handle the solo parts just fine. Duration: about eight minutes. Price for six soloists and full band: $50.00, includes shipping. (International buyers will be asked to add an additional $6.00 shipping cost.)
To see page 1 of the score, plus the first trumpet part, please click here.
FOR AN MP3 OF THIS PIECE, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT bob_latorre@hotmail.com. Thanks.
The Cremation of Sam McGee
In the winter of 2008, I was snowed in for a week, and I used the time to fulfill a long-standing desire of mine: I wrote concert-band accompaniment to my favorite poem, "The Cremation of Sam McGee", by Robert Service. I have had this poem memorized for many years (along with many other Service poems), and I recited it so often to myself that I started hearing backup music and other sounds. Okay, call me crazy, but the result is this piece, which was performed by the North Cascades Concert Band in spring 2009 and narrated by, of course, me! I used music and sound effects to preserve the spirit of adventure, drama, and dark humor that Robert Service evoked so well. The poem is included in its entirety, with a couple of minor changes to the words to accommodate the music, so the piece lasts almost ten minutes! Performing this piece was a ton of fun for the band members, the audience, and me. Scored for full concert band. Price for full score and parts: $75.00. (International buyers will be asked to add an additional $6.00 shipping cost.)
To see the first two pages of the score, plus the entire narrator's part, please click here.
For a YouTube video of me performing this piece, please visit this URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1tSGiG6HBE