For F Horn Quartet, Bb Wagner Tuba Quartet, or Trombone Quartet, 4′
The genesis of this piece came about on January 16th 2020, the day that Christopher Tolkien, son of J.R.R Tolkien, passed away. J.R.R. Tolkien’s work has been easily some of the most influential on my creative practice- Tolkien never wrote a note of music in his life, but the way he wielded words to construct images in the mind is something no music can rival. His works have held a special place in my life for about as long as I can remember, and I feel his influence in just about everything I create in some way, shape, or form. His son, Christopher Tolkien, has been the caretaker, the steward, of his father’s works since even before his father passed, and since his father passed, Christopher’s endless uncovery, organization, and cataloguing is one of the main reasons why the works of J.R.R. Tolkien are so well known and loved today. This piece is written to honor everything Christopher has done, the true steward of the legendarium.
There are versions of this piece for F Horn quartet, Bb Wagner Tuba quartet, or Trombone quartet. The Horn version and the Wagner Tuba version sound at the same pitch, so those instruments can be mixed and matched at will, but the Trombone quartet version is transposed and thus cannot be mixed with the other two.
Matthew DeChant 