Desiderata, for brass trio, is a work of rhythmic exuberance and emotional extremities. Scored for horn, trombone, and tuba, this surprising music has the trio rushing ahead in syncopated lines that leap, dive, and hocket, until arriving upon moments of harmonic stasis and timeless repose – even moments of retreat. “Desiderata” is a word for “things wanted or needed”, and although it was the ‘shape’ and sound of this word which first drew my attention, the composition of the work came to embody a search for those aspects of music making which I, as a musician (and tubist), find the most wanted and needed – and my conclusion in this trio is that playing together with other musicians, and listening closely and intently to each other, defines my notion of ‘musical desiderata’ most succinctly. In the music this may be heard in the composite rhythmic gestures that (to my ear) characterize much of this short work. Sometimes the three musicians sound like a quartet, which also speaks to the holistic nature and vision of the music.
Desiderata is in a single movement, with a performance time of just under 6 minutes.
you can download a pdf of the full score to ‘Desiderata’, or download a pdf of the program note.
The performance on soundcloud features the Trio Kobayashi.