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Mechanical Brass
by Brandon Vaccaro
Another entry in the Digital Orchestration series.
Copland has always had a special place in my heart. When I started working with the new sample library, I wanted to dig into some brass work, as they are usually the weakest link in most virtual orchestra work. Fanfare for the Common Man (1942) is perhaps the most iconic piece of American music, and it perfectly met my usual criteria for a an educational cover.
I worked as an arranger and orchestrator for J.S. Abramowitz from 2002-2009. Hero of the Heavens (2006) is scored for a larger wind ensemble brass section – 4 Trumpets in Bb [III = Piccolo Trumpet in Bb ; IV = Flügelhorn in Bb ], 2 Horns in F, Trombone, Bass Trombone, Euphonium, 2 Tubas with optional Percussion [Timpani (4), Suspended Cymbal (w/ yarn mallets), Marktree (or metal wind chimes), Crash Cymbal (held)]. The piece never got a performance, but I was really proud of the arranging and orchestration. As I dug into virtual brass instruments, it seemed like an obvious choice to program.
After I worked on the Copland, I found myself wanting to contribute to the body of fanfare works that have been influenced by it. Fanfare for the One Who Makes the Construct (2025) is a piece for a spacialized brass ensemble of 3 Trumpets, 3 Cornets, 2 Horns, 3 Trombones, Euphonium, 2 Tubas, Timpani, 2 Tam-tams, and 2 Snare Drums. Like the Copland, it is a piece of concert music that will also play a role in a larger work.
The construct is my jargon for the experiential reality made by each of our nervous systems. Our bodies are made up of trillions of cells, some of which produce electro-chemical responses that co-vary with external stimuli. Those signal travel through our nervous system to our brain, where various parts of our brain independently and asynchronously process this information, adding and supplementing it with information we “know” about the outside world. Then something truly magickal happens. Our brain combines all of this information into a singular experience of reality, a construct that we habitually project back onto the world around us. And we are so good at this that most of us never notice we are doing it. Others occasionally notice, but quickly forget it.
Yet, every experience of reality we have ever had exists in the construct. Every sunset that left you speechless. Every meal that tasted so incredible. Also, every bit of pain you’ve ever felt. Every loss that left you feeling broken. All of it.
I wanted to write something to celebrate this unsung hero, without which the world would be an unordered and incomprehensible chaos of sensory signals. The One Who Makes the Construct is the personification of this part of all of our nervous system. It deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated.