ScottOpus Productions is pleased to introduce the following works of Kenneth R. Lindner Jr.:-
Dances for Five was written in 1989 and is scored for Brass Quintet (2 trumpets, French Horn, Trombone and Tuba). The work is divided into four movements titled respectively Ragtime, Samba, Soft-shoe and Swing.
This work exemplifies Mr. Lindner’s versatility in writing for brass as well as taking a form and, with imagination and skill, while maintaining recognizable elements of the form, expanding it to create an interesting and idiomatic work.
He describes each movement as follows:-
Movement I ~ Ragtime.
“Similar to a Scott Joplin rag, but with some mixed meter thrown in for good measure. This is a ragtime dance for someone with three legs.”
Movement II ~ Samba.
“A cool Samba featuring the horn, in a soaring melody over typical samba rhythms in the other parts.” According to the composer the computer rendition does not do justice to this work. He indicates that “various rhythms” are not detached and are not “subtly emphasized to bring out the cross rhythms.” He goes onto to explain that the “Double time feel section tries to capture some of the Latin ‘hot brass’ sounds heard in Tito Fuente’s music.”
Movement III ~ Soft-shoe.
The Composer writes “In this [movement] I imagined two soft-shoe dancers on stage doing an old fashioned soft-shoe routine.” He goes on to indicate that “In the middle section…” he imagines “…..the dancers take turns solo against a repeating ostinato figure, then join together for the finish”.
Movement IV ~ Swing.
This movement is best described in the composers words “A take-off of the swing music of the big bands of the 1940”; although this statement does not really do justice to this movement. While listening to the rather poor efforts of the computer rendition it was obvious that this movement was cleverly crafted in the big band style while being written for a Brass Quintet. The Composer should be congratulated for an imaginative job well done.
A downloaded pdf copy of the score is available from the ScottOpus website. Please follow the links below to start the download. Please note that all of Mr. Lindner's works are under copyright and are only available on an individual basis and are not to be used for commercial purposes without prior permission. If you are interested in performing this work or organizing for a performance of this work, or obtaining multiple copies of this work please email ScottOpus Productions at kerryscott@scottopus.org.
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Ragtime
Samba
Soft-shoe
Swing
A downloaded Mp3 copy of a computer realized performance of this work is available from the ScottOpus website. Please follow the links below to start the download. Please note that all of Mr. Lindner's works are under copyright and are only available on an individual basis and are not to be used for commercial purposes without prior permission. It should be noted that the computer realizations of Mr. Lindner's works listed on this website were created during the 1990's and therefore do not enjoy the quality of contemporary technology. For this reason they should be considered as approximate indications of what the work sounds like rather than a full performance. If you are interested in performing this work or organizing for a performance of this work, or obtaining multiple copies of this work please email ScottOpus Productions at kerryscott@scottopus.org.
Written, with permission of the composer, by Kerry R. Scott for ScottOpus Production