Of the work, the composer himself had this to say: The première of Lloyd’s Symphony No 10 was given by the Northern Brass Ensemble in 1982 under the direction of Sir Edward Downes. Following a more tonal path than that of his contemporaries, it achieved sporadic popularity, particularly from the 1970s onwards, but has been somewhat neglected since his death, despite a resurgence of interest in 2013, the centenary year of his birth. Lloyd’s considerable compositional output, most of which was performed and recorded during his lifetime, includes 12 symphonies, 7 concertos, 3 operas and various other works, including several for brass band that have remained in use as contest test pieces. Despite childhood illness largely precluding his attendance at school until the age of twelve, at fourteen he left to pursue a full-time musical education, becoming a gifted violinist under the tutelage of Albert Sammons, and studying at Trinity College London. George Lloyd (1913-1998), born in the Cornish town of St Ives into a musical family, began composing at an early age. Over organ-like pedal notes the music gathers to a triumphant final cadence.Īllegro moderato, Calma, Andante grazioso-Presto-Andante, Energico As the fugue ends a nudge to the rhythm reveals that the theme is related to the one we heard in movement I. In the central section the tuba has a prominent role (suggesting a rather more portly dancer) before the minuet/waltz returns.Īgainst a vigorous rhythm from the tenor drum a rising fugue subject is announced by the trumpet and answered in turn by trombone, then horn. Trumpet and trombone take the lead in this minuet that is almost a waltz. The contrasting middle section gives prominence to the trombones before the original gavotte tune makes a graceful reappearance. In the outer sections a delicately phrased dance tune is played on trumpets and horn. Another group has a variant of this theme beginning on the second beat. One group of instruments plays a stately sarabande theme starting on the first beat of the bar. In the background other instruments play cascading scale patterns. The same theme, at a lower pitch, is taken up by horn paired with tuba. The five movements of this piece, written in 2014 for the players of Abbey Brass, follow the typical scheme of a baroque dance suite, but with harmonies and rhythms updated to a more modern idiom.Ī bold “fanfare” theme is heard on trumpet, closely imitated by a second (muted) trumpet. The tone is rollicking and raucous, with a more lilting central section.Īntique Suite for brass dectet & percussion In the flickering light of lanterns some of the grotesque creatures of Cornish folklore gather in a round-dance. Though silent now, we seem to hear the ghostly sounds of ancient industry. The tall chimney of an old engine-house, silhouetted against the stars, gives an impression of derelict grandeur. The instruments here are mostly muted, whirling about with brief fragments of melody. In the twilight bats begin to appear, flitting to and fro in ever-increasing numbers. The darker, more sinister tones of the brass quintet are used. In the twilight a group of prehistoric granite monoliths form a brooding presence on a barren Cornish moor. This four-movement quintet, written in 2019 for Abbey Brass, evokes some of the darker aspects of the Cornish landscape. Thomas Pellow, a resident of nearby Penryn, was seized by Barbary pirates in 1716, aged eleven, and held captive in Morocco for twenty-three years, until he escaped and returned to Cornwall to write his memoirs. This brief piece was composed in 2017 as a processional march for graduation ceremonies at Falmouth University. For all CD enquiries please email Brass will be presenting its second CD “ November Journeys” at 2pm on 26 th September in Ashburton Arts Centre, by performing Symphony no 10 by George Lloyd Also featured on the CD are three works by Paul Drayton: Tom Pellow’s March Nocturne and Antique Suite.