Davies: Slow Motion Slide Show

Slow Motion Slide Show was conceived as a work where players of varying levels could perform together. As I was asked to write a piece for Double Brass Dectet and not a 20-piece brass ensemble, I began to explore ways in which the two ensembles could remain separated in some way but still remain dependant on each other without using the more traditional ?question-answer? antiphonal approach to the piece. Antiphony does play an important role however, but in a different way. The work comprises of three sections, the three ?image slides? that the title refers to, and the music portrays each of these images starting as a blurred, unfocussed collection of colours, gradually coming into focus, and then dissipating, and the piece as a whole also follows this pattern. The first two sections are simply a series of chords, but are constantly blurred by melodic lines that grow out of them. The third section combines all the elements of the previous two into a choral, ending in a coda that brings the two ensembles together in a simple repeating statement of two triads. Throughout the piece, the two dectets play off each other creating a variety of colours, however the whole ensemble is untied in carrying the main musical argument, like antiphonal bells being sounded in an irregular pattern.

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Davies: Slow Motion Slide Show