Concert Band

Sinfonietta No 5

Yokohama Festival

Grade 5 | 16 Mins

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

The work is in 3 movements.

1. FANFARE opens with bold brass figures played under woodwind flourishes. A noble horn theme emerges, shared with the trumpets, until a second horn melody takes centre stage. This dissolves into a perky woodwind tune which changes the mood but eventually reintroduces the second horn theme to close the movement.

2. INTERLUDE begins with plaintive melodies for flute and clarinet over a bubbling accompaniment. These lead to an expressive alto saxophone tune, which is taken up by the full orchestra. A change of key heralds a climax, which subsides to introduce a whispered clarinet chorale, building dramatically to a passionate reprise of the original saxophone melody. The opening passage returns to close the movement peacefully.

3. TOCCATA is energetic and relentless, opening sternly in the bass. A ‘Brahmsian’ melody briefly appears until a quiet trumpet fanfare theme brings a mood of optimism. Its appearance is short-lived, however, and the mood darkens once again as new themes introduce a feeling of foreboding. But the fanfare reappears briefly before a reprise of the opening and an extended reappearance of the ‘Brahmsian’ theme reintroduce the original feeling of turmoil. But the optimism of the fanfare cannot be subdued and it reappears to bring the work to a triumphal close.