Croutons XIV: for natural trumpet

Abstract

Croutons XIV was composed for Australian natural trumpeter John Foster. It is one of a series of works for solo instruments that I have written over the years that consist of several short crunchy movements.<br/>The three movements explore different tonal and timbral possibilities of the natural trumpet.<br/>The first uses the movement of sound in space and the combination of vocal sounds with the trumpet sounds.<br/>The second movement plays the the different qualities of sonic presence with echo effects and use of the mute which as well as changing the timbre allows a greater range of tonalities to be used.<br/>The third movement again plays with contrasts, this time between marcato and cantabile articulations, and again explores the use of the mute.<br/>Perhaps the piece could be interpreted as a mystical trumpet far from home exploring an empty and unknowable space.