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HEXATONIC
EXPERIMENTS
FOR BRASS QUINTET
AUSTIN BRAKE
asbrakeMUSIC
Copyright ©2011 Austin Brake (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
novatonalis.com
Program Notes
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As its title implies, Hexatonic Experiments is collection of six musical vignettes, each of which
whose harmonic language is constructed through the use of a unique hexatonic scale. (Except for the
last movement, which employs all of the scales used in the previous movements.) The piece is
intended to be an exploration of these other scales and the harmonies that are derived from them.
Indeed, they are much more experimental in nature rather than systematically organized.
I. The Tritone Experiment – This movement utilizes a scale derived from the juxtaposition of two
major chords whose roots are a tritone apart. The scale starting on Bb is spelt thusly: Bb, Cb, D, E,
F, and G#.
II. The Whole-tone Experiment – The whole-tone scale is probably the most familiar scale to our
ears and was used extensively in the music of Claude Debussy and many others. In measures
16-21, 27 and part of 29 the music modulates briefly to the other whole-tone scale.
III. The Mystic Experiment – This movement utilizes Alexander Scriabin’s famous Mystic chord
which he used extensively in his Prometheus. The chord’s members (C, F#, Bb, E, A, and D) are
rearranged in a scalar pattern, more specifically, into the second mode of Scriabin’s Prometheus
scale (D, E, F#, A, Bb, and C).
IV. The Augmented Experiment – The hexatonic scale in this movement is derived from the
juxtaposition of two augmented chords whose roots are a minor third apart. Starting on C, such a
scale would be spelt C, D#, E, G, Ab, and B.
V. The Chromatic Mediant Experiment (with added tone) – This movement utilizes a scale of my
own invention. The scale is derived from the juxtaposition of two chords which exhibit a chromatic
mediant relationship (that is, their roots are a third apart and they have only one common tone)
and an added note to fulfill the requirement of six pitches. At times, the added note is changed to
provide more harmonic opportunities.
VI. The Recap Experiment – As its title states, this experiment takes all of the material presented in
the previous movements and develops it. The development process can be divided into three
sections: reinterpretation, juxtaposition, and transformation.
Hexatonic Experiments is dedicated to my dear friend and colleague Alec Blazek, who never ceases to
inspire me with his musicianship and intellectual curiosity.
AUSTIN BRAKE
February 2014
Dover, DE
Copyright ©2011 Austin Brake (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
novatonalis.com
About the Composer
AUSTIN BRAKE (b. 1991) is a passionate composer and educator who fiercely believes in the
power of music and human connection. He feels that his calling is to write music that is rewarding
not only to himself but also to its performers and its audience. In 2013, Austin graduated summa cum
laude with a Bachelor of Music degree in Education and Composition from West Texas A&M
University. He studied composition with Dr. BJ Brooks and conducting with Dr. Mark Bartley.
Austin’s compositions have enjoyed several performances at the WTAMU campus and he has been
commissioned to write works for chamber ensembles of the WTAMU School of Music including the
WTAMU Horn Choir, Brass Choir, Trombone Choir, and Trumpet Ensemble. Austin is a member of
ASCAP and enjoys listening to new music and learning new languages when he's not composing.
For more information about Austin and his music, please visit novatonalis.com.
Copyright ©2011 Austin Brake (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
novatonalis.com
AUSTIN BRAKE
CHAMBER WORKS
Overture to the Bartered Bride, arr. for trumpet ensemble (6 1/4 minutes, professional)
The Eightfold Path, bassoon octet (4 minutes, hard)
Prelude to a Winter Sojourn, for flute and piano (3 2/3 minutes, medium-hard)
Nocturne, for oboe and piano (3 minutes, medium)
Diabolus in musica, for twelve woodwinds (9 1/2 minutes, hard)
La fille aux cheveaux de lin, arr. for brass quintet (2 1/2 minutes, medium)
Fanfare for Paul, for trombone choir and percussion (2 1/4 minutes, professional)
Invisible, for brass choir (10 minutes, hard)
Fantasy on the Eve of a Summer Solstice, for clarinet and percussion (8 minutes, professional)
Hexatonic Experiments, for brass quintet (13 minutes, professional)
Fantasy on the Eve of a Winter Solstice, for violin and piano (10 minutes, professional)
Quartet No. 1, for saxophones (2 minutes, professional)
Beyond the Event Horizon, for horn choir (3 minutes, professional)
Katharsis, for alto saxophone (4 minutes, professional)
Setting for Sonnet 75, for tenor and piano (4 1/3 minutes, hard)
Fantasy on the Eve of an Autumn Equinox, for piano (7 minutes, professional)