Northern Lament

Adapted from the slow movement of Bourgeois' own "Sonata for Brass Quintet," Northern Lament is a powerful work with a fiery climax in the middle and thematic material derived from a simple & memorable melody.

Genre: Band | # of Players: Standard
Level: 4.5 | Duration: 4:30

Instrumentation
Flute 1/Piccolo
Flute 2
Oboe 1/2
Bb Clarinet 1
Bb Clarinet 2
Bb Clarinet 3
Eb Alto Clarinet*
Bb Bass Clarinet
Bassoon 1
Bassoon 2*
Alto Saxophone 1
Alto Saxophone 2
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone*

Bb Cornet 1
Bb Cornet 2
Bb Cornet 3
Bb Trumpet 1/2
Horn in F 1
Horn in F 2
Horn in F 3
Horn in F 4
Trombone 1
Trombone 2
Trombone 3
Euphonium
(Baritone T.C.)
Tuba

String Bass*

Timpan
Percussion 1 (tam-tam, suspended cymbal, snare drum, crash cymbals)
Percussion 2 (bass drum, snare drum, tam-tam)

Program Notes
This piece originated in the slow movement of "Sonata for Brass Quintet," which I wrote in 1965 whilst still a pupil of Herbert Howells at the Royal College of Music, London. It had been commissioned by the Hallé Brass Quintet, although they never performed the work. In 1997, Timothy Reynish suggested that I should arrange the work for wind orchestra. I decided to expand the movement into something more than double its original length, adding a fiery climax to its central section. The whole movement derives from the simple melody stated at the beginning. Because of Timothy Reynish's association with the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England and because the original sonata was never played by the northern-based Hallé Brass Quintet who invited me to write it, I decided to call the new piece Northern Lament.