Urban Light-James David

The world premiere of the bass trombone and wind ensemble version of Violent Shadows, performed by Evan Clifton and the Troy Athens Symphonic Band.

www.hassmusic.com

Program Notes:
Violent Shadows was originally written for AJ Muusse in 2017. The wind ensemble version of the piece was written in 2019 for Evan Clifton and a consortium of 9 bass trombonists. Inspired by progressive rock, Violent Shadows showcases the different characters of the bass trombone, from the loud and aggressive side commonly associated with the instrument to the more pure and lyrical side.

Throughout the piece, the solo and accompaniment parts work in opposition to one another. The piece begins with an energetic and fierce A section, featuring a call and response between the soloist and accompaniment where the echoed response is often melodically and rhythmically inverted. This conflict calms down in the slow and reflective B section, but some rhythmic tension persists as the bass trombone's lyrical melody often moves on contrasting beats from the accompaniment. The two halves of the ensemble fully come together in a grandiose statement of the B section, but this unification is cut short by an embellished recapitulation of the opening section and a quick, harmonically dissonant coda.

Violent Shadows for Bass Trombone and Wind Ensemble (Grade 5)

Stratoscape is a colourful and contrasting work for intermediate wind band, depicting the view of our earth as seen from the stratosphere. This voyage into the sky is pictural, but also methaphoric, as it is also a distancing from our world.

The work is divided in 5 sections and has a general 3-part "fast - slow - fast" structure : sect. I - II / III / IV - V. I tried to variate the language to create contrasting sections, and thus, the work is unified with its musical material, which is fast entirely derived from the main theme exposed in the first measures of the piece, whether it be in a rythmic or melodic way.


Main theme, as exposed at m. 1 - 8
I. Ignition ! (Allumage des moteurs !)

In this section , I tried to set in music the majesty of our planet and the excitement to see it from the stratosphere. Let's start our journey to the skies ! The work begins with energetic fanfare-like introduction, preceding the exposition of a musical leitmotiv (mark A) and to a secondary theme (25), which will serve as main melodical material in other sections. A march-like development of theme occurs at letter B, before the return of the introction at mark E.

II. Broadness & The Big Blue (Vasteté & Le Grand Bleu)

The secondary musical material of section I is now treated in a minimalistic and atmospheric way (F), depicting the broadness of the landscapes of our planet as well as the wideness of the seas. The music dilocates from mark I, exposing a crucial low-brass motif, derived from the leitmotivic third-relation present in the whole piece.

III. Stars Shining from Down and Above (Des étoiles scintillant d’en bas et d’en haut)

The middle part sets in music the fragile beauty of our earth at night. Theres is also a duality in the elements depicted here : the stars shining from down (the lights / the humans on the earth) and above (the stars in the sky / the people who left).

After some atmospheric variations of the musical leitmotiv from mark A (J), the oboe exposes a lyrical motif, rythmically and directionally derived from the main theme (K), leading to a quiet section, with various solos in the ensemble.

IV. Destructive Forces  (Forces destructrices)

This section intends to describe the majesty (fanfare sections at marks Q and W) and the raw power of nature, but also the destruction caused by humans : The rytmic motif derived from the low-brass at letter I is developed here in a very agressive manner (mark it really has to be raw sweating and muscular power!), giving the lead to the massive percussion section (letter R) and developing the material of previous sections in a sacarstic and mad way. The music collapses at m. 308, leading to an haunting quasi senza misura section, then returning to the rythmic pulsation of the beginning of the section.

V. One and Only Home (Notre seule et unique demeure)

This little section, concieved as a finale, returns shortly to a minimalist writing (mark X), giving us a little break after the sonorous end of section IV, and summarizing the material of the previous section. The final section beginning at mark Y ends the piece in an enthusiastic way.


This piece was first composed in november 2020 and profoundly revised in early 2022.

The work has not been played yet.

Stratoscape (Wind Band DEMO)

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Mii theme dub

Gauthier Dupertuis: Stratoscape - Metaphorical Views on Planet Earth 

Stratoscape is a colorful and contrasting work for wind orchestra, depicting the view of our earth as seen from the stratosphere. This voyage into the sky is pictural, but also metaphorical, as it is also about distancing from our world.
The work is divided into 5 sections: 
I Ignition!, II. Broadness & The Big Blue, III Stars Shining from Down  to Above, IV Destructive Forces, V One and Only Home
Five contrasting movements, starting with Ignition in which Gauthier Dupertuis tries to musically convey the majesty of our planet seeing if from the atmosphere, ending with One and Only Hope, as the title say a message of hope. In between three movements that depict the broadness of the landscapes of our planet (second movement), the fragility of our earth at night with only the stars shining (third movement). But also sheer reality in the fourth movement when the composer translates into music the damage caused to our planet by us human beings.

Performed by Civica Filarmonica di Lugano
Franco Cesarini, conductor

Stratoscape (Wind Orchestra) / Civica Filarmonica di Lugano, Dec 2022, Franco Cesarini (conductor)

A challenging composition for wind orchestra based on several “leidmotifs”, written from the perspective of the thinker, who ponders the different emotions and characters of the leitmotifs before coming to a conclusion, but with an open ending, because after all, the thoughts go on again…

More info: → https://www.janssenmusic.nl/le-penseur/

Le Penseur (Full Midi)

Stadtharmonie Zürich Oerlikon-Seebach, Leitung Carlo Balmelli, Tonhalle Zürich, 8. Februar 2025

Program Notes
“Anemoia” is the name given by the writer John Koenig to the feeling of nostalgia that one feels for a time that one has never known. This emotion often translates into the uneasy sensation of having lost something important or of not living at the right place or time: who has never felt a pang in the heart when seeing a photograph dating from the Belle Époque or the Trente Glorieuses?
Fascinated by this concept, I tried to translate it into music oscillating between exaltation, anguish and nostalgia. This feeling being universal and deeply personal, the work will undoubtedly find a particular resonance with each person.
I.	(un)desired sorrow 
The first movement first evokes the feeling of unease one feels when suddenly struck by Anemoia. It then evolves into majestic atmospheres, marking our admiration for times gone by. A moment of musical suspension ends the movement: why be so nostalgic for a bygone era, which we know is not fundamentally better than ours? Isn’t this feeling, as unpleasant as it may be, ultimately something that we humans of the 21st century are doomed to seek?
II.	behind the glass of time
The second movement treats Anemoia in a more melancholic way. When seeing that photograph from the early 1910’s, we hear the people in it speak, we imagine the noises, smells, sensations they feel… without being able to truly feel it. Finally, we are reduced to the state of spectators, held back by the impenetrable glass of passing time. All we can do is note the irremediable departure of time… and try to accept it.
The piece was written at the request of my friend Dominik Ziörjen, as part of his master's thesis at the Lausanne University of Music, and also served as my final orchestration work during my studies at the same school. It is dedicated to the most significant figure in my musical life: my teacher Jean-Claude Kolly who, in seven wonderful years of teaching, constantly encouraged and pushed me to flourish in the arts of conducting and composition. 

The premiere took place on December 6, 2024, during Jean-Claude's last concert as a conductor of the Concordia de Fribourg, marking thirty years spent conducting this wonderful wind orchestra.
 
http://stadtharmonie.ch/

Anemoia / Stadtharmonie Zürich Oerlikon-Seebach, Carlo Balmelli (conductor)

Composer and conductor based in Fribourg (Switzerland).