Concerto For Free Bass Accordion
Encyclopedia
Concerto for Free Bass Accordion was written for the solo
Free-bass system
accordion by John Serry, Sr.
in 1964 and was revised in 1966. A transcription for solo piano
was completed in 1995 and revised in 2002. Written in the classical music
concerto
form, it illustrates the wide ranging orchestral qualities of the free bass accordion and underscores the suitability of the instrument for performances as a robust solo instrument on the classical concert stage.
The work was copyright by the composer as the Concerto in C Major for Bassetti Accordion in 1968 and dedicated to Julio Giulietti (a leading promoter of the instrument in the United States). The work is noteworthy in so far as it represents an attempt on the part of a known musician to complete a classical composition for an instrument for which relatively little classical music was written in America during the early 20th century. (See Accordion
Use in Classical music & Accordion music genres
)
The composition is written in the traditional concerto
form of three movement
s but without orchestral ensemble. It was the composer's intention to illustrate the vast orchestral tonalities and harmonic flexibility of the free bass instrument by showcasing its potential as both a solo instrument as well as an orchestral entity. With this in mind, the composer assigned the voicing normally reserved for the orchestra
to the accordion soloist along with the traditional virtuoso
solo passages.
The resulting composition is unorthodox in its structure but provides the virtuoso soloist with an opportunity to give full expression to the instrument's complete array of harmonic
reed settings which reach from the high flute
s through the oboe
range into the clarinet
settings and ultimately into the range of the violin
and cello
settings. This wide array of orchestral harmonics is artistically expressed for solo instrument throughout the composition (See Accordion
).
The score was premiered by a student of the composer (Joseph Nappi) during the American Accordionists Association's United States Championship Competition on Long Island, New York in 1964. Included among the official jury members reviewing the composition was the accordionist Charles Magnante
- a founding member of the American Accordionists' Association
. The composition was subsequently transcribed for solo piano in 1995 by the composer and revised in 2002. It is described in the revised piano
version below. Copies of the score have been donated for the benefit of students at the Eastman School of Music
's Sibley Music Library within the Ruth T. Watanabe Special Collections Department .
con moto.
structures. This leads to a series of rhythmatic arpeggios in the key of D flat minor followed by a series of descending sixteenth note groupings echoing the main theme. The theme is subsequently restated in the key of D sharp and eventually progresses into the key of F flat. The thematic motif soon descends into the bass voice where it heralds a arpeggio in the treble voice.
Development of the theme now transpires in 4/4 time. Chromatic key changes from the key of C major through G minor into D minor lead back into the key of C major and a return to 2/4 time. The theme is recapitulated in G major and developed as a scherzo
marked Legato
e dulce. A restatement of the pervasive percussive chords of the main theme ensues in the treble voice shortly thereafter. This culminates in an arpeggio
and a return to 4/4 time.
Another series of glissando
s in the treble voice ushers in a brief cadenza
. This foreshadows another arpeggio which brings the two movements to a percussive conclusion.
markings adds to the tensions which characterize this movement.
The climax is achieved in the form of a glissando in the treble voice which heralds a new arpeggio. A series of accented triplets in minor keys marked trepitoso forms the basis for a transition back into C major and the conclusion of the work.
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
Free-bass system
Free-bass system
A free-bass system is a system of bass buttons on an accordion, arranged to give the performer greater access to playing melodies on the left-hand manual of the instrument and to forming one's own chords, by providing a buttonboard of single-note buttons with a range of three octaves or more, in...
accordion by John Serry, Sr.
John Serry, Sr.
John Serry, Sr. was an accomplished concert accordionist virtuoso, arranger, composer, organist and educator who performed on the CBS Radio and CBS Television networks...
in 1964 and was revised in 1966. A transcription for solo piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
was completed in 1995 and revised in 2002. Written in the classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
form, it illustrates the wide ranging orchestral qualities of the free bass accordion and underscores the suitability of the instrument for performances as a robust solo instrument on the classical concert stage.
The work was copyright by the composer as the Concerto in C Major for Bassetti Accordion in 1968 and dedicated to Julio Giulietti (a leading promoter of the instrument in the United States). The work is noteworthy in so far as it represents an attempt on the part of a known musician to complete a classical composition for an instrument for which relatively little classical music was written in America during the early 20th century. (See Accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
Use in Classical music & Accordion music genres
Accordion music genres
The accordion has traditionally been used to perform folk or ethnic music, popular music, and transcriptions from the operatic and light-classical music repertoire...
)
The composition is written in the traditional concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
form of three movement
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
s but without orchestral ensemble. It was the composer's intention to illustrate the vast orchestral tonalities and harmonic flexibility of the free bass instrument by showcasing its potential as both a solo instrument as well as an orchestral entity. With this in mind, the composer assigned the voicing normally reserved for the orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
to the accordion soloist along with the traditional virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
solo passages.
The resulting composition is unorthodox in its structure but provides the virtuoso soloist with an opportunity to give full expression to the instrument's complete array of harmonic
Harmonic
A harmonic of a wave is a component frequency of the signal that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency, i.e. if the fundamental frequency is f, the harmonics have frequencies 2f, 3f, 4f, . . . etc. The harmonics have the property that they are all periodic at the fundamental...
reed settings which reach from the high flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s through the oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
range into the clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
settings and ultimately into the range of the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
settings. This wide array of orchestral harmonics is artistically expressed for solo instrument throughout the composition (See Accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
).
The score was premiered by a student of the composer (Joseph Nappi) during the American Accordionists Association's United States Championship Competition on Long Island, New York in 1964. Included among the official jury members reviewing the composition was the accordionist Charles Magnante
Charles Magnante
Charles Magnante was an American piano-accordionist, arranger, composer, author and educator. His artistry helped raise the image of the accordion from an instrument considered suitable only for folk music to an instrument accepted in many music genres.- Background :Magnante's father was a...
- a founding member of the American Accordionists' Association
American Accordionists' Association
The American Accordionists Association is an American association dedicated to players of the accordion. It was established on March 9, 1938 and is currently based in Fairfield, Connecticut....
. The composition was subsequently transcribed for solo piano in 1995 by the composer and revised in 2002. It is described in the revised piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
version below. Copies of the score have been donated for the benefit of students at the Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
's Sibley Music Library within the Ruth T. Watanabe Special Collections Department .
Movements
The first two movements are coupled into a seamless segment. They are scored in 2/4 and 4/4 time in the key of C major marked Allegro non troppo. The Finale is also scored in C major in 4/4 and 3/4 time and is marked ModeratoTempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
con moto.
First and Second Movements
The first two movements of the work are coupled together and scored in C major in 2/4 and 3/4 time marked Allegro non troppo. They open with a glissando ranging over two octaves in the treble voice which culminates in the statement of the main theme centered on two percussive chordChord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
structures. This leads to a series of rhythmatic arpeggios in the key of D flat minor followed by a series of descending sixteenth note groupings echoing the main theme. The theme is subsequently restated in the key of D sharp and eventually progresses into the key of F flat. The thematic motif soon descends into the bass voice where it heralds a arpeggio in the treble voice.
Development of the theme now transpires in 4/4 time. Chromatic key changes from the key of C major through G minor into D minor lead back into the key of C major and a return to 2/4 time. The theme is recapitulated in G major and developed as a scherzo
Scherzo
A scherzo is a piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata. The scherzo's precise definition has varied over the years, but it often refers to a movement which replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or...
marked Legato
Legato
In musical notation the Italian word legato indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, in transitioning from note to note, there should be no intervening silence...
e dulce. A restatement of the pervasive percussive chords of the main theme ensues in the treble voice shortly thereafter. This culminates in an arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
and a return to 4/4 time.
Another series of glissando
Glissando
In music, a glissando is a glide from one pitch to another. It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, to glide. In some contexts it is distinguished from the continuous portamento...
s in the treble voice ushers in a brief cadenza
Cadenza
In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....
. This foreshadows another arpeggio which brings the two movements to a percussive conclusion.
Finale
The Finale is scored in the key of C major in 4/4 and 3/4 time and is marked Moderato con moto. A rhythmatic main theme is expressed mezzo forte in the treble voice through a series of sixteenth notes leading to a scherzo which is expressed in octaves. A series of key modulations expressed through ascending sixteenth notes from C major through E major into the key of B flat eventually leads the listener back to C major. This is supported by contrary motion in the bass voice. A recapitulation of the development with rising crescendoCrescendo
-In music:*Crescendo, a passage of music during which the volume gradually increases, see Dynamics * Crescendo , a Liverpool-based electronic pop band* "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", one of Duke Ellington's longer-form compositions...
markings adds to the tensions which characterize this movement.
The climax is achieved in the form of a glissando in the treble voice which heralds a new arpeggio. A series of accented triplets in minor keys marked trepitoso forms the basis for a transition back into C major and the conclusion of the work.