Fanfares, Songs & Dances

Fanfares, Songs & Dances was commissioned by Brass Bands England, the Lithuanian Brass Band Association and the Dutch National Brass Band Championships (NBK) and premiered at the 43rd 'NBK' in October 2024. The work consists of three interconnected movements: FANFARES begins powerfully with a sequence of fanfare-like sounds, initially played by the horns, whose modal theme contains a figure that recurs throughout the work. Euphoniums and cornets finally introduce a second theme; this is followed by a third theme, which is again introduced by the horns. The baritones change the mood with a more lyrical theme, which builds up to a climax and finally recalls the fanfare theme from the beginning and leads back to it. This theme gradually dissolves again and introduces the next movement. SONGS loosens up the fanfare mood with a long introduction to the main theme of the movement, which is played by the solo cornet. A change of key leads to a sonorous chorale which builds up to a triumphant return of the cornet theme. A calm coda leads to the third movement. DANCES is a scherzo-like movement based on a series of rhythmic melodies in triple metre. Underpinned by cornet figurations, it leads to a majestic return of the chorale theme from the second movement. The dance-like theme from the beginning finally returns and heralds a joyful coda.