ITEA Journal Volume 49 Number 3 (Spring 2022)

Expert's Excerpts
By Nick Beltchev

Eternal Father, Strong to Save by Claude T. Smith

There is a common school of thought that a successful execution of an excerpt is linked to compliance with the notated score. This is a safe approach, likely to please a committee and make you a good section member. However, when the information provided in an excerpt is sparse (as is the case with this excerpt from Eternal Father, Strong to Save by Claude T. Smith), it is up to the individual to interpret further, deciphering style and character from inadequate notational cues. Just playing the ink will not get you very far.

The predominant style of this excerpt could best be described as march-like. Follow the sonic cues of the snare drum's militaristic rhythmic motive in this section. Think of any note not marked legato as being marcato: firm beginning, significant separation, and no accent-like decays. This style of playing is relevant for most of the excerpt, with the exception of the syncopated quarter note in measure 5 and the quarter note triplets in measures 6 and 7. With no significant harmonic motion, Smith uses these rhythmic dissonances (syncopation in measure 5 and triple-against-duple in measures 6 and 7) to create tension that propels the latter half of the excerpt to a resolute cadence. In both instances, these notes should be treated with a relatively greater length and weight. Imagine them marked with a tenuto and staccato (Figure 2): broad, but lifted. This articulation serves to highlight the rhythmic dissonance against a prevailing march topic. A common trend among players is to cut off the last notes of the quarter note triplets, foreshadowing the upcoming duple figures. In your practice, isolate these quarter note triplets and practice them subdivided to understand the rhythmic proportions involved.

Figure 2

One of the few notated articulations are the two or three note slurs. Emphasis should be placed on the first note of the slurs and the last note should be lifted. This approach creates a gesture that has brevity and energy while promoting clarity on the succeeding sixteenth notes.

There is a notable exception to this rule which occurs in measures 2 and 3. Ignore the grouping of slurs in measure 2 (they are not practical at a metronome marking of 144 for the quarter note) and instead slur the whole figure (as shown in Figure 3). Slurring these sixteenths unifies them as one complete gesture that leads to the downbeat of measure 3. The gesture takes precedence over the written markings. An appropriate comparison would be the excerpt from the first strain of Stars and Stripes Forever in which a similar approach is commonly taken (see tuba part, measures 5-12). In measure 3, do not rearticulate the downbeat since it is connected to the previous gesture. Hold each quarter note for its full duration (minimizing the lift after the second notes of each slur). This will create a four note lyrical gesture that appropriately contrasts the militant, marcato style that dominates this excerpt.

Figure 3

The repetitive sixteenth motive at the end of the excerpt needs to be imitative of the snare drum, which opens and sustains this motive through this section of the work. The articulation of these notes should be more intense, in order to match the attack of the snare drum. When playing this excerpt in an ensemble setting, place a greater emphasis on the attack of the note. The tuba part is in unison with the trumpets and trombones on a concert F, so clarity of pitch is less imperative. Add direction to these notes to prevent this section from sounding like a rote articulation exercise. I imagine the parallel sixteenth note measures (measures 9 and 11) as suggesting an antecedent-consequent relationship, where the first phrase (ending in the second measure of Figure 4 below) has a relatively weak ending while the consequent begins again and ends stronger with a greater sense of closure. Take a breath at the end of measure 10; this is how the snare drum phrases this section. The breath will also clearly delineate the phrase structure.

Figure 4

Lastly, slow down the final figure of the excerpt (measure 12) to focus on intervallic precision. With F being the pitch center for the excerpt, the tendency is to hear the penultimate note of measure 12 to be the leading tone (E-natural); instead, Smith gives us the lowered seventh, a whole step below tonic. Try changing the accent on the last note to a marcato. Punctuating the end of the phrase with a strong, weighted articulation will promote a clearer sense of finality, given the absence of the leading tone.

12 Spezialstudien by Otto Maenz is recommended for complementary study. These are a series of atonal etudes that are motivic in nature and highly gestural. Like this excerpt, there is little indication as to the style of each etude and articulation markings are sparse. These etudes are great exercises to help develop independent decision-making with regards to gestures, character, and phrasing.

Nick Beltchev is a tuba player from Wichita Falls, Texas. Nick is a member of the Dallas Winds and an adjunct instructor of tuba and euphonium at Texas A&M- Kingsville. Prior to this, Nick held the position of Principal Tuba in the Macon Symphony Orchestra in Macon, Georgia. He is an alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin (DMA), the University of Georgia (MM) and the University of Michigan (BM). He has studied Charles Villarrubia, David Zerkel, Fritz Kaenzig, Phil Smith, Don Little, and Dr. Roy Couch.

back to top
back to table of contents

Advertisement

Latest Journal

ITEC 2023

Advertisement

ITEA News Headlines