Manchester Sketches (200.20)

Manchester Sketches (200.20) (Manchester Sketches is a three movement suite for brass quintet, each movement depicting a different aspect of Manchester, the home city of the composer. “When I first arrived in Manchester in 1998, the city was still recovering from a major terrorist attack, whilst building, and regenerating, in preparation for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. I wanted to refer to different aspects of Manchester, and the aspects that have been instrumental in the rebuilding of this great city. Movement 1, Arch Fanfare, refers to the modern arch bridge in Hulme – part of the redevelopment of the city – a modern gateway. The second movement, Autumn Falling, describes Autumn in Manchester – the usual falling leaves are more often than not accompanied by falling rain! The final movement describes the heartbeat of the city, the reason that it recovered from the terrorist attack, and the reason the 2002 Commonwealth Games were such a success – People.” Manchester Sketches was commissioned by the Swiss National Committee for the 2008 National Quartet Competition.)