Product Description
A Suite for British Style Brass Band. Each movement is based on a famous French Impressionist painting as follows:
1. Boulevard Montmarte (Pissarro 1897)
The Boulevard Montmartre is one of the four grand boulevards of Paris. This painting gave me the idea of writing a piece to portray a journey in a pony and trap through this busy street scene, starting out serenely in the suburbs, travelling through all the hustle and bustle, before trailing off into the distance. An all pervasive Poulenc mouvement perpetual accompaniment style is present throughout this movement.
2. Lac d'Annecy (Cézanne - 1896)
Although marked Waltz triste (sad waltz), the mood of the music is rather reflective in nature. This movement is the longest of the five and I would not recommend it being played too slow. Stylistically, it is a characteristic accordion piece, so touches of rubato here and there wouldnt be out of keeping.
3. La Cathédrale de Rouen (Monet - 1894)
This is the most difficult movement to play in respect of intonation, with lots of unisons, octaves and parallel intervals. The opening should be a true piano in order to allow the piece grow. The plainsong statements should be played smoothly and with plenty of air.
4. Les Parapluies (Renoir - 1884)
A jaunty, playful theme leading in to a little fugue. A little low in places for the euphoniums and baritones. The music should skip along comfortably without rushing to allow the finer detail to come through.
5. Au Moulin Rouge (Toulouse-Lautrec - 1895)
A lively tempo, always chasing forward without slackening. As in the previous movement, good dynamic contrast, swells and tight precise articulation. Lots of work for everyone, especially the baritones and euphoniums. Take care that the mf dynamic of the 'bass solo' is not overdone. If needs must, the siren whistle could be substituted with a referee's whistle, but I would like my duck call! The champagne cork 'pops' are really more visual than audible, however, it would be advisable for more of the band to join in, as required.
A super work to add to your repertoire as a concert or contest item. This title has already been played by a number of bands in various competitions, and was chosen as the 4th Section Test Piece for the Butlins Mineworkers Brass Band Championships 2015 in Skegness, UK.
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