Plog's Fantasy Movements is the BEST Tuba/Euphonium Quartet Ever Written

Anthony Plog is a composer and legendary trumpet pedagogue. His compositions for brass instruments number in the dozens including a 7-volume method book for trumpet. He has a trademark style of syncopated rhythms and writing in various modes and non-traditional scales. Fantasy Movements is a quintessential Plog work and features many of his stylistic trademarks. It was written in 2009 and commissioned by The Sotto Voce Quartet and Cimarron Music Press.

Sotto Voce is one of the most notable tuba/euphonium quartets in the world. Headed by their lead euphonium, Demondrae Thurman, the ensemble has recorded multiple award winning CDs and performed at some of the most prestigious concert halls and festivals in the world. However, there are allegations of sexual misconduct against contrabass tuba player Mike Forbes. There are public details from the case which can be found at this link. I will not dwell on this, as this is a post about the piece, not the ensemble. The recording of Fantasy Movements on Sotto Voce’s album “Take This Hammer” is the best representation of the complex compositional techniques that Plog uses. 

The piece is in 5 movements:

1. Adagio - Allegro vivace
2. Allegro
3. Slowly
4. Very Fast and Manic
5. Adagio-Allegro

For the purposes of identifying over-arching themes I’m going to focus on the first and third movements.

The first movements begins with a chromatic cluster of pitches circling around G. The first euphonium plays each pitch while euphonium 2 and tuba 1 play every other pitch, sustaining through the dissonance and creating an echo-like effect. The second tuba acts as a quasi soloist in this opening as the chromatic pad serves as an undulating accompaniment. 

As the opening section comes to a close, Plog begins to utilize a secondary compositional technique - the use of “teams”. The euphoniums are sustaining while the tubas have moving eighth-notes. As the Allegro section begins, each instrument continues playing with their partner. Harmonically we’ve graduated from minor seconds to major seconds as well as utilizing the octatonic scale. As this section continues, an ostinato in the tubas becomes the driving accompaniment while the euphoniums imitate each other in a quasi-fugue before returning to the major-second octatonic theme. The end of this movement returns to the opening material briefly before a final statement of the transitional material acts as a coda. 

This movement encapsulates the two compositional techniques that this entire piece is based on. The first, is the use of non-traditional scales and modes. The use of chromaticism and octatonic scales creates an open-ended feeling to the harmony that makes it seem like some of the patterns can continue on and on in perpetuity because we never quite get to a cadence. The other technique is the use of “teams” With the ambiguity of the harmony, the listener needs something to latch on to and that is the texture. The teams are often pitted against each other with different articulations or even rhythmic interpolations. The tuba team seems to be in 3/8 while the euphoniums are clearly in 4/4. This creates an incredible challenge when it comes to putting this together with an ensemb
le. There are even professional recordings on the market that struggle with this section.

The other movement I’d like to focus on is the third movement. This movement, like the first, utilizes both of the compositional techniques I have highlighted previously. Instead of a particular scale or mode, Plog uses this movement to present harmony in a vertical sonority - that of the perfect 4th or quartal harmony. The movement opens with quartal harmonies in unison rhythms. This is interspersed with cadenza-like gestures in tuba 2 and euphonium 1, used as connective material between sections. 

The tempo picks up and Plog continues his use of quartal harmonies while adding in the “teams” technique. The tubas are playing melodies in perfect fourths with each other while the euphoniums have an eighth-note ostinato accompaniment. The teams switch back and forth before arriving at the mid-point of the movement, another homo-rhythmic quartal section. This is an abridged version of the opening, complete with a short cadenza used as transitional material. The second faster section begins and the use of teams is extremely obvious. The euphoniums are un-relenting with a triplet figure accompaniment while the tubas begin an operatic duet culminating with a return to the opening section yet again, even more cut down, only lasting 4 bars.

The third fast section mixes the triplets of the second and the quartal tuba melodies of the first, although it ends almost as soon as it begins. Something to note is the implied E major chord at bar 65, after an entire movement of perfect 4ths, Plog moves the second tuba up a half step instead of down on the last move, giving the tubas a perfect 5th with the euphonium moving to the third of the chord briefly before continuing on. This movements ends with a verbatim statement of the very opening of the first movement which is then transposed up a major 2nd. It eventually finds its way to a sustained open interval which the 2nd tuba adds in the quartal note, the theme of the movement to end. 

There is so much to discover about this piece. In my opinion, it is the best example of what a tuba/euphonium quartet is capable of at the current juncture. Too often these instruments get relegated to bass doubles and trombone 3 parts. It is refreshing and important to keep commissioning great composers who can write effectively for the ensemble. How amazing would a tuba/euphonium quartet by Eric Whitacre be? Or a large ensemble piece by Philip Glass? Or Jennifer Higdon? Or Lin-Manuel Miranda? Is that even possible? I'd like to think it is. 

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It's christmas! Just kidding, but this rendition of God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman is an absolute classic. Featuring Rowan Atkinson, aka Mr. Bean. This clip features a quartet of brass musicians caroling while Mr. Bean conducts them. Once he realizes the power of his baton, he has some fun. The euphonium gets a lot of the melody, which is always welcome!