Postcards from tomorrow
for Wind Band
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2021 • Wind Band • Grade 3 • 07:00 • Accademia2008
Instrumentation : Picc(opt), 2Fl(2.opt), Ob, Bsn(opt), EbCl(opt), 3Cl(3.opt), BCl(opt), 2ASax, TSax, BSax, 3Tpt(3.opt), 2Hn, 3Tbn(3.opt), Euph, Tba, DBs(opt) // 4-6Perc (3Timp, SuspCymb, RainSt, SD, 4Toms, Tri, Vbslp, WindCh, BD, Cbsa, T-T, 2Bon, 2TB, CrashC, Tamb, Glock, Clav, Vibra, Xylo, CowB)
When they are children, some people put their toys, drawings and wishes for the future in a box that they bury somewhere in order to dig it up when they are adult. The title "Postcards from tomorrow" was inspired by this tradition. what wishes would we put in those boxes for the future, what kind of postcards would we send to our grandchildren ?
To write this piece, I was inspired by three pictures that have some symbolic meaning linked to that question : each movement, played attacca, refers to one of them.
I. Abandoned Blockhouses
(Blockhaus abandonnés)
The title refers to the war and other horrors in the history of humanity. It is of absolute importance that we never forget what has been done before : like abandoned blockhouses, the reliques of the war will remain for a long time. but we must go forward.
The movement starts with an aleatoric passage and with the exposition of the earth theme (low instruments m. 5), that will come as a leitmotiv throughout the piece. The theme develops into a cry of despair in d minor (A), preceeding a section representing the horrors the war, figured by the aggressive percussions and low brass (m. 22). The ostinato at winds and vibraphone foreshadow the last section, a fanfare based on the well-known gregorian dies irae, whose text asks god for pardon.
II. Pagoda at the lake
(La Pagode au bord du lac)
The second movement was inspired by the pagoda, a religous building that is aimed to house relics of saint people, in some asian worships. This could symbolise the fact that we humans need introspection and have to look back to our roots.
This calm, peaceful movement gives the lead to some solists in the ensemble and follows an arch-form (abcba), symbolising the well-balanced architecture of a pagoda.
III. Building up the bridges
(Construire les ponts)
The last movement is a call for hope. Once our past remembered, we must now be "building up the bridges" between each other and towards a better world, facing much danger (war, climate change...), but with the faith to make this world better.
The rythmic pattern set in the first few measures is used like a "bridge" between the different sections of the movement, implying a rondo form. The first two sections remind the material of the previous movements. Then, the motif is developped in a more funky way, aiming to an exhuberant finale in D major.
En juillet 2021, cette pièce a remporté le premier prix du concours de composition « La Bacchetta d’Oro » dans la section B (prix Benito Pica) et est publiée aux éditions Accademia2008 Musical Editions.