Metamorphosis was especially written for the outstanding euphonium player David Childs, champion of the competition British young musician of the year 2001.
It exsists in 3 versions:
- euphonium and wind orchestra (RUH2084)
- euphonium and brass band (RUH2085)
- euphonium and piano (RUH2086)
The word Metamorphosis has a double meaning: “1st: It means the transformation, as that of a silkworm into a butterfly, and 2nd: the manner in which a composer may change tempo. rhythm and notes of a theme yet preserve its essential and recognisable characteristics.” (Oxford English Language Dictionary)
In my euphonium concerto I used both meanings of the word:
The 1st movement Largo expresses the feeling of being a silkworm creeping on the floor and dreaming of a life like a bird.
The 2nd movement Ground is built on a chord theme and expresses the stage of the cocoon in which the silkworm is going to be transformed into a butterfly. It’s like waking up and also like in a dream. The euphonium melodies and their echoes are similar to Swiss alpenhorn tunes.
In the last movement Presto (butterlfly) all the silkworm themes of the 1st movement are changed into joyful melodies and crispy rhythms.
The music in all three movements is expressive; it doesn’t want to show a realistic description of the life of a silkworm, the mysterious sleep of a cocoon or the flight of a butterfly but rather the human feeling similar to a creeping silkworm, to the transformation in a cocoon and to a flying butterfly.
Carl Rütti
