Blue Horizons

I have always been fascinated by exotic and unknown landscapes, and thus also by the discovery of new lands and unexplored countries. My previous large-scale pieces for brass band – Dreams, Landscapes, Beyond the Horizon, and New Horizons were inspired largely by those themes.

In this new piece, these same ideas return, but are strongly influenced by the colour blue. Like the sky and the sea, this colour is closely related to wisdom, serenity and dreams. It represents voyages and discovery, in the literal as well as the metaphorical sense. It is also a symbol of truth, as shown by the clarity of water.

This colour can however also be stifling and oppressive when it is too dazzling. It can be violent and pitiless, which is also reflected in this music. It can be nostalgic and melancholic, as in the cornet and horn solos in the second movement.

Blue has a more precise musical meaning too, that of the famous blue note, which is played or sung too low, by as much as a semitone, and which is so typical of jazz and blues. Several of the musical themes of this piece are inspired by the style and modality of these musical genres.