Categories: NEW & RECENT Publications, 2022 NATIONAL FINALS TESTPIECES
Composer: Peter Graham
This is the Championship Section Testiece for the 2022 National Finals of the British Brass Band Championships.RELEASE UPDATE This work will NOW be availble from the 1st. of AUGUST this year 2022. HYPERLINK fo Brass & Percussion
In memory of my parents,
Peter G.Graham and Margaret Graham
NYBBGB 70th Anniversary Commission
Hyperlink was commissioned by the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain in celebration of their 70th Anniversary. Since the anniversary coincided with other significant celebrations in 2022 (including the Royal Albert Hall/Ralph Vaughan Williams 150th and the Platinum Jubilee of Eliza-beth II) it was requested that these also be recognised in some way.
Where better to begin this challenging brief but with a computer search for the NYBBGB founder Dr Denis Wright (incidently born in Kensington, home of the RAH). The subsequent rabbit warren of hyperlinks led me to structure the work through a series of “associations”:
Movement I – The Voice of Jupiter. Alongside the discovery that Denis Wright had been a church organist was the realisation that while the RAH has hosted thousands of musical events the fabric of the building actually incorporates a musical instrument, the famous Henry Wills organ (aka The Voice of Jupiter).
Organ and J S Bach are synonymous (e.g. Toccata in D min) and so both become fundamental to the content of the movement. An opening 7 note quote from the Toccata leads to a mammoth sound cluster, as if every note on the huge RAH organ is sustained. The material which follows is based upon the notes BACH (in German notation). The notes are manipulated in various ways in a 12 tone matrix; reversed, inverted and so on. Other techniques employed in the movement are ones of which Bach was master, including ground bass and fugue.
Movement II – Remember Me. The centenary of the great band composer Ray Steadman-Allen provides the catalyst for this section (with a nod towards RVW with whom RSA had an interesting encounter). Like the previous movement a musical cryptogram is utilised, this time using notes based upon “RSA”: D (re in sol-fa), Eb (Es in German) and A.
Movement III – Vivat. The finale takes the form of a short fantasy upon Hubert Parry’s marvel-lous coronation anthem I Was Glad, truly a celebratory note with which to conclude Hyperlink.
Percussion Requirements :
Timpani - Vibraphone, Tam Tam, Glockenspiel
Percussion 1 - Tubular Bells, Xylophone, Vibraphone, Clash Cymbals
Percussion 2 - Tam Tam, Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Hi-hat, Clash Cymbals, Tubular Bells
Peter Graham
April 2022
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