Composer Christopher Bond has spoken of his delight that his first major test-piece has been chosen for the 2019 National Youth Championships of Great Britain.
'Corineus' — inspired by the mythical first ruler of the Kingdom of Cornwall, will be used as the set-work for the new Championship Section contest to be held at Warwick School next year.
"It's a real honour to have it chosen, and I hope the story inspires the young players as much as it did me when I first heard it," he told 4BR.
Fighter of giants
The work was premiered by Cory Band under Philip Harper at the 2018 RNCM Brass Band Festival, and tells the tale of Corineus, a prodigious Trojan warrior, fighter of giants and mythical founder of Cornwall — from his trek to found his new kingdom, to his death and resultant family battle for supremacy between warring factions for the crown.
"It's a tale of love, war and death — so there's plenty of drama and excitement in each of the interlinked movements, and at around 11 minutes in length it will be a demanding, but hopefully enjoyable test", he says before adding: "It should make 'Game of Thrones' seem a bit tame!
I hope it ignites the imagination of young brass players around the country and leads to more people visiting Cornwall, which is such an evocative, mythical place. I can't wait to hear the performances at the Championships, as I know the standard is so high."
It's a tale of love, war and death — so there's plenty of drama and excitement in each of the interlinked movements. It should make 'Game of Thrones' seem a bit tame!Chris Bond
Great boost
He added: "It's also given me a great boost of confidence to write more major test-piece works, although at the moment I'm just finishing off a cornet solo for Lode Violet.
I may have to check though if there are a few more great Cornish tales left to be told first."
Find out more
The work can be purchased from Christopher Bond's website at:
