Bergamasca

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Orchestration: picc.1.2.2.2/4.2.3(btbn).1/timp.2perc/hp/str

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Duration: 1 min 

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Composer's Note

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Perched on a hilltop in the shadow of the Bergamasque Alps, Bergamo Città Alta is a compact nest of bell-towers, churches, and villas, which exists as much above or amongst Lombardy’s thick white mists as it does beneath them. Bergamasca is a whimsical salute to this magical place, and playfully deconstructs the hymn tune, Christus Vincit, which is sounded by the bells of the town’s Piazza Vecchia.  The hymn tune is quoted by the horns near the work’s beginning, before a sprightly dance (representing Bergamo’s morning bustle) emerges.  The hymn tune then returns, drifting into the mist, ahead of a short, conclusive burst of energy.

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Bergamasca was commissioned by the Orchestra of Opera North as part of their Minute Masterpieces programme for emerging composers.

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