Trumpet and Piano (6:27) - October - November 1999

Badinage (Third Edition) (MIDI)

This one took most of the semester to write; mainly because I was busy with other things and not always inspired to write it. After several false starts, I wrote up to the development over October and November. The other half of the piece just flowed out over the weekend after Thanksgiving, which was surprising considering how much I struggled just to get the right sound in the first half.

In standard sonata allegro form, this piece is my second true attempt at writing for trumpet and piano. I'm a lot more adventuresome with the rhythm in this piece, while still staying within the bounds of a well-defined time signature. Ultimately it ended up as a dialogue between the two instruments and the title appeared a few days later (French for "playful banter").

I rearranged this piece twice. The second edition of this piece is very similar to the original. I mainly lightened the piano part, removing unnecessary chord tones, and making it a little easier for the the pianist to get by. I also adjusted some tempos and gave a couple new breathing spots to the trumpet. The third edition was arranged for a possible recording with Dr. Allen Bachelder, and I took much of the advice of Martin Ellerby on ways to improve the structure of the piece.

For more commentary on this piece, please see the recital program in the "Other Commentary" section.