Concert Band

Glorioso! was commissioned by Takasaki City Community Band, Japan, to celebrate their 50th anniversary. They gave the premiere on 3rd December 2022 in a concert featuring 5 other Sparke pieces.

This lively overture opens with a majestic fanfare on the brass with florid woodwind decorations. A bridge passage on clarinets and saxophones leads to a reflective repeat of the fanfare material on the woodwinds, which builds to introduce a lively con fuoco, featuring a robust main theme on horns and euphonium. The bridge passage from the fanfare reappears in a new guise to introduce a central cantabile melody before the music returns to a recapitulation of the main theme. Eventually the opening fanfare returns before a flashy coda closes the work.