Concert band (Piccolo, Flute 1/2, Oboe 1/2, Bassoon 1/2, Bb Soprano Clarinet 1-3...(+)
Concert band (Piccolo,
Flute 1/2, Oboe 1/2,
Bassoon 1/2, Bb Soprano
Clarinet 1-3, Eb Alto
Clarinet, Bb Bass
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone
1/2, Tenor Saxophone,
Baritone Saxophone,
Cornet (in Bb) 1-3,
Trumpet (in Bb) 1/2,
French Horn 1-4 ,
Trombone 1-3, Euphonium,
Tuba, Stri) - grade 4
SKU: CN.S11242
Composed by Adam Gorb.
Arranged by Michael
Brand. Band Music. Score
only. Duration 4:20.
Published by G & M Brand
Music Publishers
(CN.S11242).
Scenes from an
English Landscape is a
brief nostalgic tone poem
taking its inspiration
from visions of rural
England as depicted in
the paintings of John
Constable, the novels of
Thomas Hard, and the
music of Gustav Holst and
Ralph Vaughan Williams. A
chorale-like theme is
stated in the brass and
then taken up at three
times the tempo in the
woodwinds. At the end of
the work, both versions
of the theme are stated
together to bring the
piece to a triumphant
climax.
This is a
brief nostalgic tone poem
taking its inspiration
from visions of rural
England as depicted in
the paintings of John
Constable, the novels of
Thomas Hard, and the
music of Gustav Holst and
Ralph Vaughan Williams. I
imagined a community of
villagers coming out of
church and filling a
village square with their
vibrant presence. A
chorale-like theme is
stated in the brass and
then taken up at three
times the tempo in the
woodwinds. At the end o
the work, both versions
of the theme are stated
together to bring the
piece to a triumphant
climax. Adam Gorb was
born in Cardiff and
started composing at the
age of ten. His first
work broadcast on
national radio was
written when he was
fifteen. He studied at
Cambridge University
(1977-1980) and the Royal
Academy of Music
(1991-1993) where he
graduated with the
highest honours including
the Principal's Prize. He
has been on the staff at
the London College of
Music and Media, the
junior Academy of the
Royal Academy of Music
and, since 2000 he has
been the Head of School
of Composition at the
Royal Northern College of
Music in Manchester .
International recognition
came in 1994 with the US
Walter Beeler Prize for
his work Metropolis .
With it began what has
developed into probably
the most important wind
ensemble catalogue by a
contemporary composer,
ranging from extremely
challenging to the most
accessible, at all
technical levels, seized
on by players
internationally, widely
recorded and now
absolutely central to the
world's wind repertoire.
Equally important though
are his works for dance,
and concert pieces like
the chamber orchestral
Weimar , the Violin
Sonata , a Clarinet
Concerto for the Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic
Orchestra and Diaspora
for strings (for the
Goldberg Ensemble).
Deceptively mainstream at
first glance, they
display the same
inventive brilliance,
pulsating sound world,
striking use of rhythm
and an undogmatic absence
of stylistic hang-ups to
embrace jazz and
serialism in works where
power, poetry, irony and
pathos, often underlaid
by a theatrical and
deeply subversive
element, coalesce in an
integrated, highly
individual musical voice.
Gorb is also not afraid
to draw on the vivid
musical heritage of his
Jewish roots, sometimes
directly, often in a more
subsumed or radically
creative way. The crucial
and consistent feature of
Gorb's work though is
that it communicates
strongly without
patronizing players or
audiences. He firmly
believes that if
contemporary music - any
music - does not impact
on listeners then its
message is irrelevant; it
is lost.