Wind Band Music - CLARKE, N. / TURNBULL, K. / SANTANDREU, J. (Earthrise, CD) (MTSU Wind Ensemble, Thomas) (2014)

This program presents exciting new works by three composers whose backgrounds range from military bands to rock and jazz music. Nigel Clarke’s Earthrise represents the drama of the entire NASA Apollo 8 flight. This contrasts with the Heritage Suite, a representation of the day-to-day life of the historic market town of West Malling in Kent, England. Celebrating the Battle of Britain in 1940, Their Finest Hour uses the actual alarm bell which called the RAF fighter pilots to their planes. In Kit Turnbull’s striking evocation the trombone assumes the rôle of the griot, a poet, storyteller and musician who chronicles West African tribal stories through words, mime and movement. Jesús Santandreu’s Sortes Diabolorum evokes the violence of the Inquisition and the ultimate triumph of common sense over superstition.