Flute Choir (Picc, 6 Fls, 2 Afls, 2 Bfls. Cbsfl (opt.)) - Grade 6 to 9 SKU: W...(+)
Flute Choir (Picc, 6 Fls,
2 Afls, 2 Bfls. Cbsfl
(opt.)) - Grade 6 to 9
SKU: WN.OR004B
Composed by M. Orriss.
Flutets series. Score and
parts. Wonderful Winds
#OR004B. Published by
Wonderful Winds
(WN.OR004B).
ISBN ISMN
9790570743766.
1.7.
16 was commissioned by
The Hamilton Flute Band
to commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the Battle
of the Somme, and was
premiered in St
Columb’s Cathedral,
Londonderry on 1st July
2016. This new version
for flute choir was
written for The
Woodbridge Flute Choir,
Virginia, USA, in 2024.
The piece takes some of
its ideas from musical
elements already
connected to the story,
from the signalling bugle
calls that might have
been used in battle, to
hints of one of the March
tunes that the band still
use today.
794,628
lives were lost in the
Battle of the Somme, a
chilling statistic. These
numbers are also woven
into the music, colouring
the choices of intervals,
harmonies and chords, and
building the central
themes, including the
slow march to the
trenches, where the
uncomfortable
juxtaposition of 7ths and
9ths is used as a motif
over the solo flute theme
before the screeching
whistle signal to go over
the top.
One of the
musical elements central
to the piece is the bugle
call for Assemble which
is used as an
enthusiastic call in the
opening, then to give
unity to the chilling
fear of the trenches on
the eve of the battle,
and finally to lead into
the Commemoration of the
final section, as those
in the Cathedral 100
years later became part
of the story as they
assembled to commemorate
the huge sacrifice
made.
