brass quintet
2014

Duration 3’
Instrumentation piccolo trumpet, trumpet in Bb, french horn, trombone, tuba
Commissioned by History West Midlands

http://composersedition.com/charlotte-bray-trading

An arrangement of Fanfare for Birmingham, which was commissioned by History West Midlands to commemorate the centenary of the death of Joseph Chamberlain

A live free improvisation by Herbie Hancock, opening Cantaloupe Island, hugely inspired the work. The principal theme is in fact a quote from his improvisation and this drives my composition. The title Trading is taken from a technique used in jazz, (‘trading fours’), in which musicians alternate brief solos of typically four or eight bars. This technique was loosely used in the compositional process to structure the central section.