Sinfonia for Brass, Percussion & Strings was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. It was first performed at Brangwyn Hall, Swansea and St. David’s Hall Cardiff in May 2006 with Davis Atherton conducting. The conductor described it as a “beautifully crafted score that was extremely enjoyable to both rehearse and perform”.
Both performers and audience received the work with great appreciation and it has been scheduled for future performance at the new Alun Hoddinott Hall in 2009.
The work was designed to showcase the brass section of the orchestra and is in three movements, Intrada, Sarabande, Canzona. The work looks back to the brass music of Monteverdi, Purcell and Scheidt and, starting from a point of extreme simplicity, gradually evolves into atonality before eventually reconciling itself in a climactic and optimistic close.
A short extract from each movement is clickable below: