Nightingale Dances

Nightingale Dances was commissioned by the Tredegar Town Band for their 2011 performance at Brass in Concert at The Sage, Gateshead. The piece won the Cyril Beere award for Best New Composition or Arrangement, the second successive Cyril Beere award for Matthew Hall as his piece Legends of Cyfarthfa also won the same prize in 2010. 

Nightingale Dances opens with a mellophonium-esque ensemblesound of 5 flugel homs, 3 tenor horns and trombones inspired by the Manhattan Transfer version of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, leading into a fast quickstep section for full band. Solo flugel horn takes the lead into the paso-doblé middle section of the piece before the original opening to A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square becomes the main focus in the euphonium and baritone. A big build up into the final kit~led Hollywood- style show dance section with a half tempo feel ends the work with a real thumping ending to any contest or concert performance.

Matthew Hall 2011