Review

S.J. Kevin Waters
Under A Soft Rain: Fantasy for Brass Quintet:

Tobyhanna, PA, United States
Publisher: Pocono Mountain Music Publishing
Date of Publication: 1994

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Brass Ensemble - 5 brass

Father Kevin Waters holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in classics, philosophy, music, and theology. He was awarded a doctorate in composition from the University of Washington having studied with John Verrall, Roy Harris and Bruno Bartolozzi.  Currently he is Dean Emeritus of the College of Arts and Sciences, Gonzaga University, and is a professor of both Philosophy and Music. His substantial output includes operas, orchestral works, a number of pieces for small ensembles as well as several large choral works. The Seattle Symphony, Kronos Quartet, Emerald City Brass Quintet, and Colorado State University Orchestra have performed some of these works, and others have been premiered in San Francisco, Guadalajara, and Rome. The composer writes the following about his brass quintet:

"Under A Soft Rain, premiered by the Emerald City Brass Quintet in Seattle, celebrated the Washington State Centennial in 1989. The work is a tribute to my Irish ancestry and to my birthplace in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. Reminiscence of a sailor’s hornpipe is heard in the piece, which alludes to the mariner side of my family. Great-grandfather John Moran plied the Irish Sea out of Dublin before he served on a route between San Francisco, Seattle and Juneau during the Alaska gold rush. Whether on Irish waters or Puget Sound, more than not he was under a soft rain."

This short work poses no great technical challenges other than some mixed meters.  Individual parts are idiomatic with limited technical and range requirements. The harmonic, rhythmic, and formal elements are all traditional. This is well-crafted and interesting music that is also fun to perform, as each instrument gets to share in the melodic material.

-Karl Hinterbichler
University of New Mexico