SLEEPLESS CITIES - Parts & Score, TEST PIECES (Major Works)
Availability Available Published 24th June 2009
Cat No.JM49608 Price
£64.95 Composer: Paul Lovatt-Cooper Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works)
Set as the Championship Section Test Piece for Butlins 2010.
Paul Lovatt Cooper writes : Programme Notes
I have been very fortunate in my life to have visited many wonderful countries and places around the world as a musician, whether it is as a composer. performer, conductor or soloist. From my experiences I wanted to compose a piece of music that showcases cities that never stop and have a constant hubbub of energy.
The ‘Sleepless Cities’ that have influenced the basis of this work are New York, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Istanbul, Amsterdam, Zurich, Cairo and Dubai. However, when composing this piece I decided it would be impossible to assign a particular musical theme that sums up each city, as they all have such a rich and diverse cultural establishment. Therefore I opted not to compose this piece in separate movements to identify each city. Instead, I composed a piece where each city blends into one another, almost as if you were taking a speedy cab ride through each bustling metropolis without a break and without the constraints of time or distance. With each metaphoric turn round a street corner you arrive in a different city and before the listener can get used to the surroundings the cab turns again into another conurbation.
Sleepless Cities is composed using melodic lines that follow in the traditional western classical style. However, as some of these places are so culturally diverse, you will also hear other cultural musical influences; for example the opening uses elements of an Indian Raga and the euphonium cadenza at bar 126 is based on the Middle Eastern Islamic call to prayer. You will also hear examples of gamelan music and the use of consecutive 4th and 5th intervals including the pentatonic scale which is a trade mark of Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian traditional music. There are also a number of occasions where both the western and eastern musical styles amalgamate highlighting the natural harmony that the differing genres share in one place.
Programme Notes : Mutes — in the parts where a mute is not specified the conductor can decide which mute to use. Harmon mutes — when harmon mutes are used then it is in all cases for the plunger to be pushed in and for the player to use their hand to cover the end of the mute with their hand (represeruied by the symbol +), or alternatively to leave opeh (represented by the symbol o). At bar 130 and 131 in the soprano and repiano cornet parts, the players should start in the closed ‘÷‘ position and gradually change to the open position ‘o’ during the playing of the first four semiquavers.
Euphonium Cadenza Half Valve Glissando — the two occasions where the euphonium is required to use a half valve glissando appear at bar 126. The first is simply to gliss. without pitch using the valves pressed half way down from the Bb to the G note. On the second occasion the euphonium is required to just gliss. away from the Bb to no particular note.
Shaker/Maraca Roll — the roll at bar 117 in the shaker should be a motion shaking from side to side rather than a circular motion giving the impression of a rattle snake.
