For Solo Trumpet in C
Comission by Antena 2 / RTP for the Jovens Músicos Award, 2012
War has been absent from Europe for an unusually large period of time as a widespread conflict. Its return would mean both a threat to democracy and liberty. But History provides useful examples we should always preserve. In Krakow, a trumpeter kept the city under
surveillance from the tower of Mariacki Church of Saint Mary, signaling the hours with a specific tune, the "Hejnal Mariacki". In 1241, at the glance of the tartar-mongol, the trumpeter of Krakow decides to play the Hejnal repeatedly, which was the only way he knew to warn the city about the impending invasion. His heroic act saved the city, but he did not had the same destiny. An arrow crossed his throat, putting an end to his unceasing repetition of the Hejnal. In homage, the same tune is still played at the same time and place, but the melody is suddenly stopped on a broken note. On what concerns formal aspects, this piece is based on the principle of repetition as a way to alert the listener to an
uprising conflict. In this time of growing tension, it is also my homage to all those who, through out history, have sacrificed themselves for progress and human values. To them dedicate the broken note.
Vila Nova de Gaia, January 2012