Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog was commissioned by Leigh Baker and the Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band, for the 2014 Brass in Concert Championships at the Sage, Gateshead.

The theme for the programme was a modern take on Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’, where each piece was based upon a painting.  Mussorgsky’s Promenade theme can be heard as a motif throughout the piece and is interwoven with original thematic ideas.  The piece was inspired by a painting entitled ‘Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog’, and explores the theme in a variation of styles, including a slow and tranquil opening, which builds into a fast, loud and exciting finale.

Ben Hollings, January 2016