Eternal Flame
Steffan Brunette
Ensemble: Wind Ensemble
Solo Instrument: Soprano
Grade: 5
Duration: 12:00
Year of Composition: 2007
Premiered by: Uxbridge Community Concert Band (Steffan Brunette, conductor)
Date of Premiere: August, 2008
Publisher: self-published
Available: Yes
How to Acquire: Composer
Links:
Solo Soprano
Flutes 1,2,3
Oboes 1,2
B♭ Clarinets 1,2,3
B♭ Bass Clarinet
E♭ Alto Saxes 1,2
B♭ Tenor Sax
E♭ Baritone Sax
B♭ Trumpets 1,2,3
F Horns 1,2,3,4
Trombones 1,2,3
Euphonium
Tuba
Percussion 1-6
Score and parts available from the composer at no charge.
Program Notes:
This piece was inspired by the words of Mary-Lynne Ashby-Cornell, a friend of the composer, who died of a brain tumor after living with the diagnosis and the hopes of remission for many years. Her poem of the same name speaks of searching for belonging beyond the mortal world, and that
we all have a purpose beyond the life we live here. The genesis of this music began with the musical representation of Mary-Lynne’s last name:
“ASHBY”, translated as “A-S-H-B-E”, using the musical notes A, E♭, B, B♭, and E. The collection of pitches E, A, and B create a quartal harmony, and are first heard in the quiet rambling of the flutes in the opening. The second idea is a rising minor sixth, which appears at measure 57. This interval plays an important role melodically, as well as forming a support for other musical material later in the work.
The key centres also play an important role. The music opens with a vague sense of E minor and G minor, with the concert E♭ pitch at odds with the surrounding tonality. At two critical moments, the music resolves itself to B major, and the E♭ becomes a D♯ and finds a home in the new key. This search for belonging resonates with the point of Mary-Lynne’s poem. The work opens with a three-minute introduction for the full wind ensemble.
(Steffan Brunette)
