The set work test-pieces to be performed at the 2026 Swiss National Championships have been announced.

The event returns to Montreux and the refurbished 2m2c Convection Centre with its outstanding Stravinski and Miles Davis Halls, on the weekend of the 27th and 28th November.

Test Pieces

Excellence Division: Apocalypse (Derek Bourgeois)
Elite Division: Phoenicia (Stephan Hodel)
First Division: Lowry Sketchbook (Philip Wilby)
Second Division: The Son of the Sun (Bertrand Moren)
Third Division: Der Magnetberg (Mario Burki)
Fourth Division: Postcards from Tomorrow (Gauthier Dupertuis)

Apocalypse

The premier level Excellence Division bands will be faced with 'Apocalypse' (Opus 187).

It was written by Derek Bourgeois (1941-2017) in what he called "the vein"of some of his earlier works such as 'Blitz', 'The Downfall of Lucifer' and his 'Second Concerto' as a "heady mixture of unease and uncontrolled excitement".

It was commissioned in 2002 by David King and the Yorkshire Building Society Band.

Although it shares its title with the that of the last book of the New Testament, it has no specific programme or narrative.

Instead, the composer writes that he wanted to portray the sentiments of "destruction, pain, domination, warfare, attack, combat, hostility, offence, strife and struggle" within the several sections of its 18-minute plus structure that eventually plunges "headlong into the abyss".

Phoenicia

'Phoenicia' — Symphonic Sketches for Brass Band (Stephan Hodel) was written in 2018, and takes indirect inspiration from the multi-cultural story of the mythological phoenix — a bird that rises anew from its own ashes.

The work does not however follow any specific narrative, but is inspired by what the compose calls "various impressions, which contain these stories" within three self-contained sections.

Lowry Sketchbook

'Lowry Sketchbook' remains one of Philip Wilby's most enduring works for the medium — written in 1993, but subsequently given minor revision in 1996.

Described by the composer as his "Manchester piece", it is written in three sections — a bustling 'City Scape', followed by nostalgic 'Family Portraits' and the 'Peel Park Bandstand' with it quote from Bach's 'Partita'.

The Son of the Sun

'The Son of the Sun' (Bertrand Moren) was written in 2014, and takes its inspiration from the Inca Empire which reached its height at the beginning of the 16th century only to be decimated and destroyed by the arrival of Spanish conquerors in 1532.

Moren focuses on the figure of Atahualpa — the last Inca emperor, and so called 'Son of the Sun', whose life is depicted in five interlinked sections.

Although it shares its title with the that of the last book of the New Testament, it has no specific programmed or narrative4BR

Der Magnetberg

Der Magnetberg (Mario Burki) — translated as 'The Magnetic Mountain', is inspired by a tale from the collection of Middle Eastern fables — better known as '1001 Nights', which were narrated by Scheherazade to the Persian King, Shahryar.

It tells the tale over its 350 plus bars — from the opening scene of a bearded one-eyed man being approached by a beautiful woman, to the sea reaching the pinnacle of the fabled mountain and a man, made of copper leaving in a boat into the distance...

Postcards from Tomorrow

'Postcards from Tomorrow' (Gauthier Dupertuis) was written in 2021, and takes its inspiration from his thought of a form of 'timebox', and what wishes people would place in one to be opened in the future by our grandchildren.

Dupertuis takes symbolic images linked to the question; The first movement, 'Abandoned Blockhouses', refers to the horrors of war on humanity, while 'Pagoda at the Lake', acts as a reliquary in Asian worship. The third, 'Building Bridges', is a call for hope.