in Bergamo

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For Brass Quintet

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Duration: 10 mins 

 

 

Composer's Note

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Commissioned by Philharmonie Essen and Deutschlandfunk, in Bergamo is my “Opus 1” and yet contains topics (such as the sound of church bells) that I have continued to explore ever since.  As the title suggests, the piece is inspired by a few days spent in the Città Alta of Bergamo (Northern Italy) and might be thought of as a set of musical postcards.  Beginning calmly with Prologue: Lights, old town, restaurant the music becomes more animated with I. Students - a playful movement that seeks to evoke the nightlife of the university town.  The following movement II. Scooters and Bells is based on an unlikely dialogue between imaginings of scooter and motorbike engines and transcriptions that I made of church bells whilst sitting in the town’s Piazza Vecchia.  The work then comes to a close with the peaceful Epilogue - Passeggio.  in Bergamo’s first performances were given by the Carnyx Youth Brass Ensemble (of which I was a member) and has since been performed by the London-based quintet Connaught Brass.

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