Brass Band
Capriccio for Trombone
Grade 4 | 5 Mins
Capriccio for Trombone was commissioned by Brett Baker, trombone soloist and member of the famous Black Dyke Band. It is a tribute to the late Mike Moor, close friend and colleague of both Brett and the composer, and the expert recording engineer on many of Brett’s solo CDs; he also worked in this role for 15 years with composer and producer Philip Sparke, recording nearly 100 brass band, wind band and chamber CDs between them. He passed away in 2009.
Mike was irrepressible and enthusiastic in all things he did. He fell in love with the sound of brass bands after a career as a commercial sound engineer and, typically, left no stone unturned in trying to perfect recording the special sound of brass on both sides of the Atlantic, working with the Brass Band of Battle Creek for many years. He was never flustered and would never accept anything less than the best, being able to solve, apparently, any problem that was thrown at him.
Capriccio aims to capture Mike’s good humour and features a repeated-note figure throughout, as well as many quixotic changes of mood and meter. After the opening theme, the legato second subject, under repeated quavers, leads to an accompanied cadenza (featuring the repeated-note figure) before the original material returns to bring the piece to a close.