Performance notes: Many solos evolve and indeed, change, over a period of time. Tempos, Expression, Cadenzas and even notes are changed from ‘original’ to ‘printed’ versions of solos. Soloists will also ‘licence’ a passage of music to a) suit their own ability, or, b) for individual creative flair. The playing of solos requires diligent practice of particular technical aspects (‘technical’ not just meaning how fast we can play). Always practice the more difficult passages from a slower tempo and be able to play them faster than required, e.g. THE BETTER WORLD, bars 3‐5. Secure the pitches, secure the rhythm. Take time and space the Cadenza into musical shapes. The artistic playing of a melody is paramount to approaching any of these solos. Explore the singing qualities of your playing, in terms of phrasing, vibrato and tone colour. Choose the right articulation for the right moment, e.g. Better World – section I – legato – section J – hardly any use of tounge at all – section K – a mixture of the two. Accurate flowing double tounging is required at section N. As mentioned earlier, practice at 132 – 144 – 152 – 160 – 168. Know, and be aware of the accompaniment, in particular the difference between solo with accompaniment, and accompaniment with solo obligato, i.e. SPIRIT OF LIFE, section C onwards. The soloist should make the obligato different both times, the second time, at section F maybe with more intensity. It will be worth planning in your practice, phrasing / breathing points, and pencil‐marking them on the copy. This will help you in your practice and remind you in performance, e.g. MY LOVE IS LIKE A RED, RED ROSE, the arrangers preference is for a breathing point in bar 8 (after beat 3) . Therefore, bar 6 should be carried over. In this arrangement, the composer also advises that the flowing quaver accompaniment at the beginning is very much a supporting texture but later there are passages where they should be equal weight in the dialogue between Piano and Euphonium. A sense of equality should exist at D also, where the tune passes to the piano, and the Euphonium has its own complimentary line.There is plenty of scope in this solo for rubato and expression. The key to convincing performance lies in producing smooth, song‐like lines, and allowing its beautiful shape to charm the ear. The inclusion of scales should be part of most daily routines. Regular practice will enable you to get round many passages of these solos, e.g . TRAVELLING ALONG, bars 5‐8 – bars 147 – 150 (chromatic), TO LIVE RIGHT, bars 4‐6 – 63, 98, and other bars in the solo, contain scalic patterns (a basic discipline that always requires practice). The composer states that the introductory motif of the solo is built on the mixolydian mode and that the accompaniment is an integral part of the solo. The solo has been given extra ‘backing’ on the ‘performance’ CD, using bass guitar and percussion. Given the right players and balance, it creates a good atmosphere ‘live’. A whole range of technical demands are explored in LYRIC VARIATIONS, but as the title suggests, retaining a lyrical and expressive quality throughout Range, intervals, style, clarity of tounging and stamina are required in approaching a performance of this piece. In performing any solo, the soloist has to make decisions, but even more so in this solo. I mean by that, the ability to make a bar or a passage work for you as an individual, as opposed to just what it says on the copy. By example, I would, from my own playing of it offer the following differences/options (which are on the recorded ‘performance’ version: Bar 129 – extra note added at beginning of bar ( G quaver – 2nd line) Bar 169 – last two intervals – 2 octave slur – starting on D below 1st line … leading to G 2nd line quaver (bar 170) Bar 194 – 198 – varied octaves (as recording)
Bar 235 – ossia octave In the WELSH FANTASY, we did consider much more printed ossia. However, we have minimized these and published the solo more or less, as it was written. Additional notes from the composer tell us that this solo must be thought of more as a Sonata for Euphonium and Piano. In many places the Piano carries the weight of the musical material. The two players should regard themselves as equal partners. The cadenza was originally conceived without any accompaniment. The one presented in this edition is to assist those who will play with the accompaniment CD. If working with a live accompanist it would be preferred that the accompaniment not be used. Players however, may wish to explore alternatives for the following passages: Bars 127/ 129 / 131 would work with a descending group of 8 Bars 135 & 137 ‐ an easier alternative would be to drop the octave after the first triplet and play octave quavers, D’s / C’s respectively. Solos 9,10 & 11 of the album all require lyrical playing, being as they are, based on song lyrics. The importance of melodic playing cannot be stressed enough and I recommend these to you for your practice and for performance too. Time spent on an accurate dotted rhythm and a smooth melody line in the solo A NEW DIRECTION will be valuable, especially for the younger player. Adherence to lower dynamics will be beneficial when playing MENUET. Some of the phrases are long and require good breath control. When playing quiet though, do not sacrifice the flow of air. Think of the pressure as less and not the air flow. This will give more quality to the sound. TIMEPIECE , always a popular programme item, is a welcome inclusion in this solo album. A sense of enjoyment should pervade any solo performance, especially in such a work as this duet. Tempos can be under or over, but should be constant when set. Although a duet, two equal players may like to share the load of part I / part II, the beautiful middle section being fairly stamina sapping for player I. A performance option at Bar 166 would be octave glissandi (i.e. B to B / C to C) The melody Suo Gan (from Welsh Fantasy), has been added as an extra ‘performance’ and ‘backing’ track. I’m sure soloists will appreciate having access to this melody as a ‘stand‐alone’ arrangement. Whilst this album is made up of Euphonium solos, there is much scope for other instrumentalists to play these solos with piano accompaniment.