Air Moving. This is simply one of the most beautiful tunes I’ve ever heard, by Kathryn Tickell, the brilliant Northumbrian pipes player. She gave me permission to arrange it for trombone quartet so here it is. The original tune is published by Not Them Again/Purple Patch publications.
This was originally a ‘chops break’ piece for Bones Apart, a simple tune that would be sparing on the embouchure and would therefore be a valuable asset in a concert programme. But though it’s short (3 minutes) and has only simple slow notes in it, I discovered having finished it that the ideal chops break is in fact called a…
Loopy Louise is my wife Helen. On a train journey to Manchester, she suggested I write something for just mouthpieces, so that’s what this is. Or intended to be, anyway. It works much better on the whole instrument, and is an encore piece, containing 10 ways to say Goodbye, in about 90 seconds.
Here are the Polish and British national anthems, closely entwined and used in some of Lutoslawski’s favourite techniques. This sounds intense, but is actually an attractive piece on the ear, and I enjoyed exploring it.
