Description
Tongue in Cheek was written for my former DMA student David Holben who is an active free-lancer and recitalist in the Los Angeles area. He has become quite a specialist on the cimbasso and wanted a piece for cimbasso (or bass tuba) and Piano. It was premiered October 22, 2014 at Biola University on cimbasso with Rose Chen on Piano.
Tongue in Cheek is a short (3:30), fun piece with lots of fast changes and a few humorous snippets of familiar melodies—hence the title. It explores the full range from pedal Bb to F above middle C and is for the advance player. The harmonic structure is a mix of tonal, modal and bi-tonalities. The first section is a lively scherzo with lots of rhythmic and melodic interplay between the instruments. The middle is a slower waltz returning to the scherzo tempo with development of the original material and a sudden ending.
– Jim Self
Solo Parts Included: Tuba or Cimbasso
