The Brass Player: Fantasy on Ich bin ein Musikant
Brass Quintet - Digital Sheet Music

Brass Quintet Horn,Trombone,Trumpet,Tuba - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1303802

Composed by F. Leslie Smith. 21st Century,Chamber,Children,Historic,Multicultural,World. 77 pages. Sweetwater Brass Press #893335. Published by Sweetwater Brass Press (A0.1303802).

     A song learned in primary school years and years ago had words something along the lines of the following:
          Oh!  I’m a young musician,
          From distant lands I come.
          Singing and playing,
          Ever I’m straying.
     Also known as “I Am a Fine Musician,” “I Am a Gay Musician” and perhaps other titles, that song is still around and has evolved into many different versions.  The original was probably a German folk song from the early 1800s.  As published in an 1889 collection of children’s songs, it bears the title, “Ich bin ein Musikant.”  That translates as “I am a musician.”  In the lyrics the musician claims to be “from Schwabenland” (Swabia) and to play geige (violin: “Dide schum schum schum”), flöte (flute: “Päde wäpp päpp päpp”) and basse (bass: “Dide schum schum schump, päde wäpp päpp päpp).  Later versions list the instruments played by the musician as bassoon, bells, clarinet, drum, guitar, piano, piccolo, triangle, trombone, trumpet, tuba, tympani, viola and just about every instrument and noisemaker you can think of.
     Anyway, that’s the tune on which “The Brass Player” was built.  But here, the musician is concerned only with brass.  Which brass?  Well, possibly trumpet.  Or maybe horn in F.  Or trombone.  Or tuba.  Or perhaps all four; certainly, all are featured in this piece.
     “The Brass Player” comprises four sections.  The first is in the key of C major and is played at a moderate 2/4 tempo.  After a brief Trumpet/Tuba ostinato, Trombone introduces the main theme.  Other instruments join in and play around with a variation or two. 
     The second section is a sweet, nostalgic rendition in 4/4 carried mainly by Horn in F, with help from Trumpets and Trombone. 
     In section three, the mood changes radically.  Time signature goes to 3/4; tempo speeds up to vivace and the key changes to B Minor.  All five instruments participate, and some odd things take place rhythmically at I through K (measures 200 through 262), but Tuba seems to carry the melody most of the time.
     Section four, in G Major, clips along at a fast 4/4 time.  It returns to the main theme and (as in “Ich bin ein Musikant” and its multitudinous derivations) presents in call-and-response form.  The first few measures are straight, but discord quickly creeps in.  The melody begins to include smears, flutter tonguing and off-beat rhythmic figures.  There is even a brief section in G Minor.  Gradually, order and theme are restored and the piece ends in a glorious, upbeat statement.
     This piece, completed in 2023, consists of 398 measures, a little over nine minutes in length.  There are four changes of key and four changes of time signature.  Trumpet 1’s highest note is A above its staff; Trombone’s is F above the staff.  Trumpet 2 has a few G-below-its-staff notes.
     The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for trombone) at no charge.  He would like to receive your suggestions, comments, corrections and criticisms.  Contact him at lessmith61@bellsouth.net.  For more arrangements by Les, enter "Sweetwater Brass Press" (without the quotation marks) in the Sheet Music Plus or Sheet Music Direct search box.