October 2021
On the Premiere of the Concerto for Tuba, “The Strong Soul”
Dear Andreas, Thomas, Tobias, Musicians of Stadtkapelle Wangen, and tonight’s Audience,
During the pandemic, I composed over 295 minutes of new Music for various ensembles. All of these works are connected, one interlaced expression, one eternal Message. One of the first compositions from the pandemic-time was the piece you will hear tonight, The Concerto for Tuba & Wind Ensemble, in 3 movements.
The following is a list of interconnected works, the titles of which, will give you a sense of the larger Message! These pieces will be recorded, most likely in Germany, as part of STORMWORKS Chapter 89: Worlds Within the World.
At Dawn, A New Challenge for the Future of Humanity
The Souls of Heaven
The New Beginning! (Nothing but Time, Written in Stars, Fugue State, In the Throes of Eternal Hope, The New Beginning)
In Your Eyes I See the World
Ours are the Hours
Scherzo
Im Himmel höre ich nun (I Shall Hear in Heaven, The End of All Storms, I Hear Now in Heaven) composed for the 250th Anniversary of Beethoven… who said, “All Men shall be Brothers.”
The Concerto for Tuba & Wind Ensemble (The Strong Soul, This Too Has Passed, Sorrows & Victory)
Seven of these world premieres were postponed because of the pandemic. On this night, you are hearing the first premiere since the postponement of the seven.
To provide some context, please allow this sharing. Even when written in the solemnity and isolation of Prayer, we, what Beethoven would call The Brotherhood of Man, write Music as a Message to ourselves. We proclaim with each scribbling and utterance that we are Brothers and Sisters, alive together in this Moment to lift each other up.
In my many trips to Germany over the years, I came to respect, admire and love the German people. I am blessed to have such Friends across Time and Space.
I am deeply honored that the finest Tuba player in the world, Andreas Martin Hofmeir, will render this Concerto. That a Musician such as he will play this Music, is humbling and exciting! I’m sure he will tell a wonderful Story tonight.
I am profoundly grateful to Tobias Zinser and Thomas Rundel, who asked me to compose this Music. I admire them greatly. They have allowed me an opportunity to share Music across the world. For this Gratitude, there are no words, only the Music.
I clasp my hands in prayerful thanks for the fine student-Musicians of Stadtkapelle Wangen. What a great honor to be a simple kid from Port Chester, New York, who speaks only one verbal language, and have his True Language rendered by such beautiful, good people. I appreciate you. Thank you so much.
And, dear audience, thank you beyond any words, for lending your hearts and minds to the Story told and shared this night as Music. As Goethe said, “So divinely is the world organized that every one of us, in our place and time, is in balance with everything else.” As we are all here together this night, even with your Friend from across the sea, let us find something wonderful in our Time together.
Here are some guiding messages from the Score Notes:
Concerto for Tuba & Wind Ensemble
“The Strong Soul”
#1209 in 17:33
for Tuba & Wind Ensemble of the 3rd Millennium™
by © Stephen Melillo, IGNA 11 September 2019, 2-3 Millennium, ASCAP
Commissioned by
Tobias Zinser & Thomas Rundel
In Dedication to
Andreas Martin Hofmeir
and All the Tuba Players Around the World
1. The Strong Soul, Allegro Intenso
“We are thrust into Hell.”
Rather than write a Novel on what this could mean, suffice it to say that often times, we are put into situations that we did not choose. It is from within these challenging circumstances that the Strong Soul finds itself, there to rise, through struggle and dark opposition, to the final Victory of the Brotherhood of Man.
2. This Too Has Passed, Lento con dolore
It is said, “This too shall pass.” Rather, This too has already passed. As expressed in STORMWORKS Chapter 3, “We await the Past while remembering the Future.” In the Timestorm of our thoughts, we project ourselves beyond all moments and “look back” upon a Lifetime to any Moment, past, present, or ahead.
3. Sorrows & Victory, Lento, Allegro molto
In Surrender, we arise, able to create a Monument to the Spirit of God and Man.
It is said that Angels look out for us. Indeed. As it was suggested within STORMWORKS Chapter 3, “The Speech of Angels,” there are great battles fought in the Heavens! However, looking at the photo on the score cover, we see that the small Angel is youthfully unaware of the Darkness in our world. This is why the 3rd movement begins innocently, almost naively, as if from a different Time.
On earth, the young Angel is protected by one of our own winged creatures! Ransacked by Life, the Song Sparrow says, “Thanks for the battle you guys fight for us in Heaven. As for here, in this domain? Well, we’ve got your back.”
Technical discussions of form, Fibonacci, orchestration, and the physical/intellectual matters of Music aside, that is the summation of the Concerto for Tuba. “We, the Strong Souls, got your back… and we got each other.”
God has us in His palm. But! In our often struggled climb to Victory, so too, do we have Him in ours.
Godspeed!
Stephen Melillo
Composer