Colored Leaves is the evocative title of a composition for solo horn by Pamela Marshall that is on the student performance competition repertoire required list for the Southeast Horn workshop. Pam, a Boston area horn player, composer, and technical writer, says, "The title came after the fact, but I feel that it reflects the different moods of the piece, and I actually worked on it in the fall."
"One can tell a lot from hearing a person play an unaccompanied piece," comments workshop host Cynthia Carr, "and I know a student gains something different from preparing a piece for horn alone, so I felt it would be good pedagogically, too." Cindy had played Pam's Miniatures, also for solo horn, and when she read about the new piece in a Horn Call review, she was interested. "I thought it was well-crafted and idiomatically written, with a lot of character and atmosphere, technically challenging but approachable."
This reaction fits with Pam's intent. She had found most pieces for solo horn to be highly virtuosic and wanted to create something "not beastly, that a low horn player would feel comfortable with." Colored Leaves is in two movements, with some metered measures but much unmeasured, and a section that can be muted or stopped, and another section muted or open. One part has a swirl of notes, as though the wind tosses them around.
Lydia Busler-Blais, who premiered it, says, "Colored Leaves creates a strong stage presence in the performer and yet is accessible to many levels of horn player. It is not a piece that can be performed by use of technique alone. It's uninhibited, but at the same time helps hone the ability to play smoothly and with direction."
Pam finds the piece fun to play, and she hopes others have fun with it, too. She has published it using Nightingale software on a Macintosh computer. It is available from Spindrift Music Company, 38 Dexter Road, Lexington MA 02473 (781-862-0884).