4BR Editor Iwan Fox takes a closer look at the own-choice selections to be performed at the Bruckerhaus in Linz over the weekend.
Brand new premieres as well as existing blockbusters from the pens of composers Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen, Stijn Aertgeerts, Bert Appermont, Klass Coulembier, Nigel Clarke, Thomas Doss, Peter Graham, Gavin Higgins, Ludovic Neurohr, Herman Pallhuber and Oliver Waespi will be performed in the Championship Section, whilst Dorothy Gates and Peter Graham provide the inspiration in the Challenge Section.
A Brussels Requiem (Bert Appermont)
The terrifying terrorist attacks that occurred in Brussels in March 2016, with similar outrages that followed in Paris, Nice and Berlin, shocked the world, leading to an increase of fearfulness and misunderstanding, as well indignation and reflection.
People began asking questions of how cultures that spoke openly of tolerance and peace had apparently grown so far apart that they could no longer understand each other.
Bert Appermont's composition (commissioned by Brass Band Oberösterreich for the 2017 European Championships) marks his own personal tribute to the victims of the attacks — although it does not seek to describe what happened in narrative form. Instead, it sets out to reflect on the experience and to express the complex emotions triggered by the terrible events.
The four movements are linked by the underlying children's song 'Au Claire de la Lune', which in the first movement is used as a cipher for the loss of innocence.
The four movements are linked by the underlying children's song 'Au Claire de la Lune', which in the first movement is used as a cipher for the loss of innocence. It then moves through a militaristic second section (‘In Cold Blood’) of brutal disturbance as hell descends, before a minor coloured chorale leads into a paean of grief and pain that signals the heartfelt desire that a peaceful inclusive society ‘shall rise again'.
The work therefore closes in hopefulness; a search for meaning, ‘A New Day’ of optimism and even childlike fun as the nursery tune is recalled before a fierce, passionate climax.
Angels and Demons (Peter Graham)
‘Angels & Demons’ was written in 2015 and takes its inspiration from the Bibical passage found in the Book of Revelation.
'And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon...'
These two lines of text provide the composer with the material for a series of sound pictures describing a spiritual battle beyond earthly realms. Michael is often depicted in the Bible as an archangel - a chief angelic warrior: The Dragon is of course, Satan.
Michael is often depicted in the Bible as an archangel - a chief angelic warrior: The Dragon is of course, Satan.
However, the composer clearly states that the composition does not come with any underlying pretext to an acceptance of the source material by either the performers or audience, but instead, for it to be approached with an open mind of interpretation.
It is therefore written on a broad, colourful, filmatic canvas; sweeping in elements of drama and excitement balanced against pathos and reflection – a battle of symbolic will powers and ideologies.
These elements are clearly marked; one optimistic, brave and loving, the other, darkened, tainted and chaotic in nature – the balance between the two veering between the polar opposites as the work progresses.
The linear development draws the listener to its climax through each of the sound picture sections of ensemble and solo challenges – the end seeing the triumph of good over the darker forces of evil.
Audivi Media Nocte (Oliver Waespi)
Originally written as the test-piece for the 2011 European Championships in Montreux, Waespi’s work and has become a seminal composition for the brass band medium.
It comes from an intelligent, febrile mind which distils an audacious concoction of conflicting musical imagery. Waespi describes it as oscillating, "...somehow between past and present, between contemplation and frivolity, between prayer and rave.”
The work is based on a 16th century motet by Thomas Tallis: 'I heard, at midnight...' a work of calm, contemplative reflection.
Waespi describes it as oscillating, "...somehow between past and present, between contemplation and frivolity, between prayer and rave.”
However, in the composer’s hands its elemental passion and drama is exposed and revelled in, repressed regret pushed back to the darker recesses of the mind, although never quite obliterated.
Various chord sequences and rhythmical structures emerge that lead the work in the direction of a musical drama, with elements of a concerto grosso and trio features for different soloists.
The original motet reference does return in glory at the conclusion, but only after it has been utterly transformed, not through pastiche variation but by compelling osmosis to become an ultimate counterpoint to the original inspiration.
Ben-Hur 1925 – Tone Poem for Brass Band (Peter Graham)
Lew Wallace’s ‘Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ’ written in 1880, has inspired numerous adaptations for film (most memorably with Charlton Heston in 1959), television and radio.
Each has given a slightly different take on the American Civil War Union General's vast eight-part novel, described as "the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century."
Using the 1925 silent film directed by Fred Niblo as a starting point, the composer has reimagined the story through the eyes of an aged, reflective Ben-Hur, looking back on his life and its defining moments.
The work also acknowledges the profound influence on the composer of Eric Ball, whose biblical tone poems including ‘King of Kings’ and ‘Exodus’ helped shape the brass band repertoire of their time.
The work also acknowledges the profound influence on the composer of Eric Ball, whose biblical tone poems including ‘King of Kings’ (1931) and ‘Exodus’ (1937) helped shape the brass band repertoire of their time. It is dedicated to the memory of Derek Smith.
The hymn ‘Veni, Veni Emmanuel’, symbolising the parallel narrative of Christ within the Ben Hur story, was likewise central to Ball’s epic ‘The Kingdom Triumphant’. The work concludes with the ‘Dresden Amen’, also heard in the closing bars of the work.
‘Part I’ sees Ben-Hur’s life unfold from Rome’s splendour and tyranny to the signals of the coming of Christ. His life though takes a path of betrayal, the galleys, heroic battles, and charioteering. However, even victory offers no peace.
‘Part II’ sees him torn by inner turmoil as he discovers his suffering family. In desperation he turns to Christ, whose message of compassion and forgiveness transforms him, his thirst for vengeance giving way to healing and reconciliation.
Dial ‘H’ for Hitchcock (Nigel Clarke)
A Psychological Thriller for Brass Band
Written in 2016, Nigel Clarke’s work looks back to a golden era of cinema, and in particular the film noir genre led by Alfred Hitchcock, the peerless master of suspense and psychological thrillers.
This was cinema that explored the underbelly of the American dream. Troubled heroes were portrayed as rugged but weak; their liquor strong and the lit cigarette a compulsory accessory. The femme-fatales were sassy and strong-minded; oozing sexuality with figures like hour glasses on stiletto legs.
The unexpected and unexplained were around every corner. Morals were loose, and threats ever present, right from the ‘Scene 1’ opening – ‘Danger Signal’. There is no happy ever after ending – the final scenes, ‘Unfaithfully Yours’ and ‘The Verdict’ could well be good or bad for someone.
Clarke plays adroit homage to the composers who created the memorable scores; Rózsa, Jarre, Mancini, Goodwin, Tiomkin, and most notably Bernard Herrmann
Clarke plays adroit homage to the composers who created the memorable scores; Rózsa, Jarre, Mancini, Goodwin, Tiomkin, and most notably Bernard Herrmann, who wrote for the Hitchcock films: ‘Psycho’, ‘North by Northwest’ and ‘Vertigo’.
‘Dial `H’ for Hitchcock’ is the composer’s own Herrmannesque score – not pastiche, but still packed with dark drama, acidic humour, bubbling passion, illicit romance, suspense and danger.
Kosmoz – Concerto No.3 for Brass Band (Ludovic Neurohr)
‘Kosmoz’ derives from the composer’s fascination with “the bond between the sky and the human being”, and the use of the zodiac from antiquity to offer a symbolic map through which to understand not only the rhythms of the cosmos, but also the character traits that shape our personality.
Neurohr gives musical form to this circular journey; translating the twelve signs into sonic colours, energies and characteristics.
It opens with a prologue entitled ‘Constellations’ – a musical prelude that sees the composer invite the listener “to lift their eyes to the universe while turning inward, to feel the immensity of the astral world and its resonance in human nature.”
What follows are ethereal textures and shifting harmonies which create suspension, wonder and introspection
What follows are ethereal textures and shifting harmonies which create suspension, wonder and introspection – as the cycle begins its journey through the twelve signs, each with its own “cosmic energy and psychological force” that bind the celestial bodies and the human mind together.
Between them, four astronomical thresholds are breached; the spring equinox, the summer solstice, the autumn equinox, and the winter solstice which serve as transitions between each section - “gates between sky and soul, offering instants of reflection, transformation, or release before the cycle continues its journey into the infinite.”
Lost Paradise (Hermann Pallhuber)
(A dramatic poem in five movements for Brass Band)
‘Lost Paradise’ was written by Hermann Pallhuber to be premiered at the event.
It is inspired by the Book of Genesis, and by one of the most well-known biblical narratives – that of the Fall of Man. Framed by a prologue and an epilogue, it is a tone poem in five connected movements: temptation, awareness, the voice of God, the garments of grace, and the expulsion from Paradise.
The key musical cipher is the ‘diabolus in musica’ tritone which shapes both the melodic themes and the harmonic structures of the work. Pallhuber uses it as a distinctive combination – a minor triad with a major triad to create in a minor third as his ‘God call’ leitmotif to Adam: “Where art thou?”
The key musical cipher is the ‘diabolus in musica’ tritone which shapes both the melodic themes and the harmonic structures of the work.
Only the fourth episode, ‘Garments of Grace’, remains untouched by this ‘devil in music’. Elsewhere the five interwoven episodes arc disturbance and oppression before becoming calmer and ultimately leading to a sense of hope. The expulsion from the Garden of Eden and the loss of Paradise, at the same time signify the gaining of a new life.
Pallhuber however asks if the Fall was a necessary process - intended by God as an essential step in the development of human consciousness and responsibility?
The answer is left up to the listener.
Mnemosyne Phrases (Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen)
Mnemosyne was the Greek goddess of memory who gave birth to the nine daughters of Zeus who became the muses of the arts: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Polyhymnia (hymns), Euterpe (music and lyric poetry), Terpsichore (dance), Erato (love poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Thalia (comedy), and Urania (astronomy).
This however is not the direct inspiration behind the Norwegian composer's work, but rather his personal memory of how they interact with each other to create original art.
As the composer writes: "Without remembering, you can't create at all. You cannot be innovative. According to Mnemosyne I write my music because I remember 'something'."
As the composer writes: "Without remembering, you can't create at all. You cannot be innovative. According to Mnemosyne I write my music because I remember 'something'."
It is that interaction and how those fragmentary memories are transformed into the score that forms the work’s four-movement creative structure; slow/fast/slow/fast.
As well as a central emotive core there is an ephemeral acknowledgement to the composer Wilfred Heaton and his compositions – primarily, 'Partita', which the composer feels embraces the concept as successfully as any written for the medium.
The work opens with a 'Prologue' (Lento) followed by a 'Scherzo' (Presto) (Hommage a W.H.), an 'Idyllic Illusion' (Grave) and closing 'Capriccioso' (Allegro ma non troppo).
Orpheus & Eurydice (Stijn Aertgeerts)
Belgian composer Stijn Aertgeerts takes inspiration for his latest major work from Greek mythology and the tale of the tragic, pitiful love between Orpheus of Thrace and the beautiful Eurydice.
It is most famously retold by the poet Virgil as well as being set to music by the likes of Monteverdi, Haydn and Harrison Birtwistle.
Aertgeerts condenses the epic narrative into a compact highlights version of 25 different directive parts — each linked as in the tale, some small and passing (such as the three headed dog, Cerberus), others more substantial (Charon the ferryman across the River Styx).
Aertgeerts condenses the epic narrative into a condensed highlights version of 25 different directive parts — each linked as in the tale, some small and passing, others more substantial.
It starts with a future vision of tragedy with links to Ovid's 'Metamorphosis' (itself 15 books long), before the story unfolds of young love, enthralled and naïve, with leitmotif thematic material signalling the main protagonists of Orpheus and Eurydice, Haes and Persephone.
What follows is told through the musical score — a wedding, a snake, death, descent to Hell, the underworld and its figures of eternal damnation, intrigue, persuasion, doubt, a fleeting backward glance, despair, sadness, godly retribution and final catharsis of pure Greek emotive tragedy.
REM-Scapes (Thomas Doss)
“...some moments for Ludwig van...”
The familiar strains of Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' emerge through the subterranean rumblings of the opening to a work inspired by the nebulous world of deep sleep and half sleep and its effects on the mind.
Into the comforting arms of Morpheus this is anything but.
Doss takes a disturbing look into the darker recesses of the subconscious personality (an area he likes to explore with other works) rather than the biological mechanics behind the twitching electrical impulses – much like Freud or William Blake with its blackness the colour of pitch tar. Any redemption on awakening is hard to find after a night’s sleep quite like this.
Everything here is distorted as the musical images he creates are charged through the synapses of the brain like an old gramophone record playing on a demonic loop in the upstairs room at the Bates Motel.
Everything here is distorted as the musical images he creates are charged through the synapses of the brain like an old gramophone record playing on a demonic loop in the upstairs room at the Bates Motel.
The tension is built as the conscious and subconscious battle against each other; an ever-growing intensity of struggle between the impulse to awaken and the exhausting urge to flee or simply fall further into the abyss.
For a short moment, it seems as if the wakeful urge has won out, before dream’s powerful spell is again cast, and there’s no escape...
So Spoke Albion (Gavin Higgins)
Gavin Higgins’ composition is inspired by aspects of the life of the artist, poet, illustrator, painter and engraver William Blake (1757-1827) – a man destined to become a seminal figure of British cultural history, although not in his lifetime.
An enigmatic figure of deep complexities and radicalism, he championed beliefs thought to be completely alien to the restrictions of his time; a Christian who attacked organised religion, a mystic who would see ‘visions’ of Angels, and a writer of some of the most powerful allegorical themes.
An enigmatic figure of deep complexities and radicalism, he championed beliefs thought to be completely alien to the restrictions of his time
The composer evokes these in three linked sections: The first, ‘Angels on Peckham Rye’ a disturbing, fearfully dislocated and anxious vision of heavenly bodies he saw in a tree – their “bright angelic wings bespangling every bough like stars”.
The second section ‘Catherine’ is a lyrical evocation of his wife; tender, loving, unquestioningly loyal and supportive – a woman that was one half of one of the “most poignant relationships in literary history.”
The finale section ‘Albion Rose’ evokes Blake’s vision of England – a giant of a man, “stretching out naked but open to the world”, optimistic in its political awakening, inclusivity and positivity.
This World (Thomas Doss)*
Thomas Doss is well known for seeking inspiration for many of his works from classical music sources, yet for this composition he draws on his own feelings to reflect on 'This World' on which we live.
It is one he says where we, "love, laugh, mourn, cry and fear. On which we beget, give birth, kill and destroy."
As a singular viewpoint it seems that individual actions can do little to alter, yet seen from the infinite vastness of space it gives a very different perspective.
And it is from that focus point that he encourages the listener "just to see this world from outside..."
As a singular viewpoint it seems that individual actions can do little to alter, yet seen from the infinite vastness of space it gives a very different perspective.
The work reflects on current events, from the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East to the destruction of the environment and the politics of populism.
This provides the composition's emotive core — earthly troubles caught in heavenly serenity, technical advancement and daring set again lyrical reflections and contentment. Doss retains his charismatic template structure, and although there is no ‘direct’ classical quotation the threads are clearly defined, as are the fantastically tailored technical requirements.
The music, written in one continuous arc, presents demanding questions of the players in their efforts to offer performance resolutions, the listener simply asked to keep an open mind to the outcome they wish for themselves.
*The work will be performed twice
West Wind – Metamorphoses for Brass Band (Oliver Waespi)
Waespi is well known for works inspired by landscape and literature such as ‘Traversada’ or ‘As if a voice were in them’.
‘West Wind’ (structured in three parts) adds to that, with each section bearing a subtitle drawn from poems by Emily Bronte (1818–1848).
Waespi states that although “certain core musical elements recur,” the work is guided less by systematic symphonic development than by an intuitive stream of variants to generate a metamorphosis that, “illuminates the material from shifting vantage points, projecting the emotional landscapes of Romantic poetry into the present day.”
Bronte’s poetry hides its darker emotions behind an innocent surface of refined elegance. Her work has been described as having “a warm human aspect”, although she has been described as “obstinate and self-absorbed” – “No coward soul is mine”.
Bronte’s poetry hides its darker emotions behind an innocent surface of refined elegance. Her work has been described as having “a warm human aspect”, although she has been described as “obstinate and self-absorbed” – “No coward soul is mine”.
The opening movement, 'West-wind, in thy glory and pride!', begins with a mellow soundscape, almost like an aquarelle, although the music soon transitions into forward-driven gestures of turbulence, restlessness and unpredictability.
The ensuing Adagio reflects on the poem ‘Stars’ and exaltation and regret — another recurring feature of her work. Introspective solo and chamber music statements lead to a broad ecstatic ensemble, before finally receding into a solitary euphonium soliloquy.
The final movement, 'Wild words of an ancient song', is an extended rondo-scherzo, driven by virtuosic motion and a passing reference to 'The Boy on the Moor' by the German poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, a contemporary of Bronte who explored similar narratives from a different perspective.
Wisdom or Madness (Klaas Coulembier)
(inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll)
Inspired by the fantastical literary journey of Alice in Wonderland as illustrated by Salvador Dalí, Coulembier’s work touches on the aesthetic of the surrealists: “What some call madness could be perceived by others as wisdom”.
Although not a narrative led dramatic retelling, the score does bring several key scenes vividly to life – initially set as Alice’s dreamlike state presented as a six-note chord built of diminished, perfect, and augmented fourths and a four-note motif.
From there on the journey becomes ever more fantastical following the scurrying white rabbit as she plummets to her new world. When she finally arrives, she cries so much she creates an entire ‘Pool of Tears’ which forms the basis of a slow central section.
Although not a narrative led dramatic retelling, the score does bring several key scenes vividly to life – initially set as Alice’s dreamlike state presented as a six-note chord built of diminished, perfect, and augmented fourths and a four-note motif.
The last movement draws on the ‘Mad Tea-Party’ – a gloriously absurdist work of surrealist genius. The music mirrors this strange eternity with insistent ostinatos over which different sections introduce both virtuosic and delightfully unhinged figures, each ‘shuffled’ as if a new seat is being offered them by a series of metric modulations.
The Queen, infamous for her cry of “Off with their heads!” is rendered as a grand unison line in the cornets, punctuated by stabbing chords of execution.
From here the music circles back to the opening to leave the listener wondering if it was all a dream, pastoral and beautiful, or the emergence of a form of madness that will return again and again.
Challenge Section:
Hope (Dorothy Gates)
Written in 2006, Dorothy Gates’ ‘Hope’ is a deeply personal reflection on the horrors of the seemingly never-ending conflict between Israel and Palestine that at the time of writing led to the questioning of her own faith.
The title in effect comes with an invisible question mark – and whether or not hope itself actually exists in bringing a settlement to end the human tragedy.
The title in effect comes with an invisible question mark – and whether or not hope itself actually exists in bringing a settlement to end the human tragedy.
The music, which she says is “unashamedly programmatic” brings its own considered sense of optimism, although it opens with a section entitled ‘Conflict’. It is followed by ‘Despair’ and the immediate sense of loss that is felt each day by families after the death of innocent children.
Small, fragmentary quotes of works ‘A Little Star Peeps o’er the Hill. ‘Jesus Loves the Little Children’ and ‘In Christ there is no east, nor west’ are also heard – the latter underpinning the final section ‘Hope’ that sees the composer still finding solace in her Christian faith and her personal hope that it will find an answer to this and other conflicts.
Metropolis 1927 (Peter Graham)
Fritz Lang's 1927 science fiction film epic Metropolis is considered to be a masterpiece of cinematic vision.
Set in a future dystopian world, it highlights the lives of two contrasting communities living in its vast city landscapes: Those above ground enjoying a life of privilege and pleasure serviced by the underground-dwelling drone workers whose role is to operate the banks of machines which provide the city's power.
Although Lang's film can be considered a type of 20th century morality play with its famous female 'Maschinenmensch' robot, it has also been seen as a Marxist/Leninist critique of the corrosive underbelly of the inter-war German Weimer Republic.
Although Lang's film can be considered a type of 20th century morality play with its famous female 'Maschinenmensch' robot, it has also been seen as a Marxist/Leninist critique of the corrosive underbelly of the inter-war German Weimer Republic.
Although the work does not attempt to précis the plot, nor promote the message of the original, it does reflect the composer’s appreciation of Lang's noirish visual style and set designs - from the brooding machine rooms, decadent nightclubs and gothic cathedral to the paradoxically beautiful creations such as the famous robot.
‘Metropolis 1927’ - is a theatrical take on that inspiration, with its slightly acidic, dark tonality and clever snapshot imagery - from air-raid sirens to Dixie jazz combo leading the listener through the urban landscape to what is hoped is a triumphant conclusion of lasting happiness.
The Essence of Time (Peter Graham)
'The Essence of Time' was originally written as the set work for the 1990 European Championships and has since proved to be one of the most popular test pieces for bands at Championship and First Section level.
The work takes inspiration from Chapter Three of ‘The Book of Ecclesiastes’: "To everything there is a reason, and a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven; a time to be born; a time to dance; a time to love; a time to hate; a time to die; a time to mourn; a time for war; a time for peace."
It is in effect as set of discoursal variations on a thematic premise. It is left to the interpreter and the listener to decide how they relate to themselves.
It is in effect as set of discoursal variations on a thematic premise. It is left to the interpreter and the listener to decide how they relate to themselves.
It remains one of the most satisfying of Peter Graham’s major test-piece works - superbly constructed and rounded to feature both individual and ensemble strength and weaknesses. It has a beautiful simplicity in many of the more subdued movements, whilst the faster variations are bright and witty before reaching its glorious apotheosis.
