Op. 33 for Brass Quintet. Commissioned by the Three Choirs Festival 1992 and premiered by the London Gabrieli Brass Consort.This is a short piece for brass quintet in one movement. The polyphony of the introduction gives wayto massed chords which in turn lead to the first main section. This is a funeral march during which all the instruments have solos in turn. The trombone is first then trumpet I; horn; later in duet with trumpet II; finallythere is long solo for the tuba.The second section is a series of fanfares on trumpets joined by the horn which alternate with successive phrases of a chorale melody on the lower instruments - horn trombone and tuba. MitFried and Freud ich far dahin is Martin Luther’s masterly and very beautiful re-creation in German of the Nunc dimittus. The massed chords of the introduction then return and the piece ends with the polyphony with which itbegan.Parts available: SOS04782

In its original form the Suite was written in answer to a commission from the Farnham Festival and was first performed on 11 May 1971. I was however not entirely satisfied with it and did not pass it for publication until 1982 when I revised it in considerable detail. In its revised form it was first performed on 18 June 1983 at Monash University Melbourne.The music requires little explanation. The titles of each of the five movements indicate their character: 'Fanfare'; 'Dance' which has Elizabethan overtones; 'Popular Song' which explores jazz rhythms and harmonies; 'Ceremony' - a solemn chorale; and 'Finale' a light-hearted Rondo with fugal touches. The overallintention is simply to entertain both the players and their audiences.