Suite for Brass Band
This suite took some if its inspiration from George Orwells' book "The Road to Wigan Pier" which documents the bleak living conditions among the working class in Lancashire and Yorkshire in the industrial north of England before World War II. |
||
| The first movement is in ternary form, with sections which are fast - slower - fast. A bright fanfare type opening leading into the first section, which is in a quick 6/8, and is itself divided into A - B - A structure. | ||
| |
||
| The movement concludes with a reiteration of the first faster section. | ||
| The second movement is altogether gentler in
mood. I thought of this being a representation of thoughts
about the nature of working life. "It ain't half
hard..." The melodies are often descending, as if to mirror
the mood of that quote. There's maybe something of the day of
rest about this movement too. |
||
| The last movement is back to a brighter tempo, with fanfare type motifs at the beginning. It was the idea of the clog dance that started me off with this movement, although it has to be said that the music in no way seeks to recreate the tradtional, long-established and fine-sounding flok music that is used to accompany such dances. | ||
|
|
||
| | ||
| In the middle of this movement, the forward impetus dries up, and the Eb bass is given a spot in the limelight as a slow version of the tune is introduced. | ||
| Joined by colleagues in the bass end, the speed increases and takes us back to the original tempo and a
speedier tempo in the concluding bars. |
||
|
|
||
View
and/or download
 Listen to the complete piece here |
||
