Concert Band

Bacchanalia

Grade 5 | 5 Mins

Bacchanalia was commissioned by the Yokohama Bacchus Brass Orchestra to celebrate their 20th Anniversary in 2019. They gave the premiere, alongside Sparke’s Sinfonietta No 5 (also commissioned for the occasion) in a concert held in Yokohama on 9th June 2019.

The Yokohama Bacchus Brass Orchestra wanted the title of this short opener to reflect the reference to Bacchus in their name, so Bacchanalia was agreed upon. The spirit of the Greek god of wine permeates the piece, with bustling themes and occasional harmonic ambiguity. A fanfare-style opening leads to a dancing piccolo solo which is taken up by more woodwinds and eventually the whole orchestra. An extended bridge passage leads to a central legato theme which cannot shake off the dance motifs. This is again echoed by the whole orchestra and leads back to a reprise of the opening themes in reverse order. Eventually a wild Bacchanalian dance erupts on high, screaming woodwinds until a short coda brings the work crashing to a close.