nstrumentation: 1 flute/piccolo, 2 oboés, 2 clarinets Bb, 2 Horns, 2 Bassons
Movements:
I. Adagio - Allegretto
II. Scherzino giocoso
III. Petite Sérénade Morave
IV. Finale
Duration: 14'30''
The Symphonie pour neuf instruments à vent was written at my oboist friend and colleague, Andrew Swinnerton’s request. It is dedicated to him who has premiered several works of mine. As suggested by Andrew, the piece was conceived for the same formation as that of Charles Gounod’s Petite Symphonie: 1 flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons and 2 French horns.
Symphonie pour neuf instruments à vent’s musical language is neoclassical and relaxed, and like Petite Symphonie, it suffered the simultaneous influences of viennese classicism (in particular from Mozart’s Wind Ensemble work) in the 1st and 2nd movements, and of the czech and moravian folklore in the 2nd,3rd and 4th movements.
This also occurs in Gounod’s piece, showing folkloristic shadows here and there, though their regional origin is not traceable.
This was also the case with Mozart who during his last years clearly suffered the influence of the popular music he was hearing in Prague, which is particularly obvious in his work for winds or wherever that group plays an important part, like in his serenades for winds ,Symphony nº38, "Prague", Don Giovanni, and Symphony 39.
The czech and moravian flavour in my tonal work arises from my long interest in these cultures, whether through their literature (Jaroslav Hašek, Karel ?apek, Franz Kafka e Milan Kundera), or their music (Smetana, Dvo?ák, Janá?ek e Martin?), and , in some of my more recent works, the czech flavour (a mixture of a non-sense humour with a tender and nostalgic atmosphere) reappears, like in the Suite de Hašek for wind quartet, or in the Quinteto de Cordas[1].
From a rythmic point of view, the Symphonie pour neuf instruments à vent is however , at times, a somewhat complex piece of work, like in the 2nd movement, where the demands of the crossed rythms, the metric interchange and overlap, and the fast tempo justify the maestro’s presence .
[1] String Quintet