Joseph Turrin

2 Portraits

2 Portraits was written in 1995, and consists of two movements in a romantic contemporary style and may be played as a set or individually.

The first of these Portraits, entitled Psalm, was conceived as a Flugelhorn solo. The soloist plays a kind of quite soulful chant over an ostinato figure in the piano. There are some cadenzas for the soloist and the piece develops into several sections before returning to the ostinato figures.

The second Portrait, entitled Incantation, is for both trumpet and flugelhorn. This movement is in direct contrast to the Psalm with it's character being more energetic and lively with a good share of changing meters. Some strong melodic lines in the solo part soar above the rhythmic excitement in the piano. There is a lot of contrasting material here, always changing, yet driving forward. There are some nice running passages throughout for both soloist and pianist, and a contrasting middle section with long singing melodic lines. This movement makes a good companion piece for the Psalm.