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- Gunther Schuller
Five Moods (1973)
- Associated Music Publishers Inc (World)
Programme Note
Composer Note:
Taking it to be a basic assumption that a composer in any piece wishes to communicate through the language of music some thoughts, ideas, philosophy, moods, states of mind or emotion, there also can be from time to time subsidiary purposes which also motivate a composition. In the case of Five Moods, one crucial factor was the passing of William Bell, the first great American artist on the tuba and the mentor and teacher of many of today’s finest tubists. Indeed, Five Moods, dedicated to Mr. Bell’s memory, tries to capture in vignette portraits the different characteristic traits of this remarkable man.
In addition, as a composer who also is a brass player, I always welcome the opportunity to write challenging, serious music for these instruments and particularly for an instrument like the tuba which has for so many years suffered from stereotyping at the hands of composers and has generally been considered an “underdog” instrument, not regarded as capable of a full range of musical expression. But is it precisely Bill Bell’s artistry and teaching which gave that particular myth the lie. In a real sense, his legacy is the wealth of literature the tuba can now boast and the inspiration he has given to men like Harvey Phillips, who suggested that I write this piece for the first International Tuba symposium-Workshop (held in Bloomington, Indiana) and who carries on in Mr. Bell’s tradition.
— Gunther Schuller
Taking it to be a basic assumption that a composer in any piece wishes to communicate through the language of music some thoughts, ideas, philosophy, moods, states of mind or emotion, there also can be from time to time subsidiary purposes which also motivate a composition. In the case of Five Moods, one crucial factor was the passing of William Bell, the first great American artist on the tuba and the mentor and teacher of many of today’s finest tubists. Indeed, Five Moods, dedicated to Mr. Bell’s memory, tries to capture in vignette portraits the different characteristic traits of this remarkable man.
In addition, as a composer who also is a brass player, I always welcome the opportunity to write challenging, serious music for these instruments and particularly for an instrument like the tuba which has for so many years suffered from stereotyping at the hands of composers and has generally been considered an “underdog” instrument, not regarded as capable of a full range of musical expression. But is it precisely Bill Bell’s artistry and teaching which gave that particular myth the lie. In a real sense, his legacy is the wealth of literature the tuba can now boast and the inspiration he has given to men like Harvey Phillips, who suggested that I write this piece for the first International Tuba symposium-Workshop (held in Bloomington, Indiana) and who carries on in Mr. Bell’s tradition.
— Gunther Schuller