Concert Band

Mountain Song

Grade 5 | 7 Mins

Commissioned by Bob Bernat, and the River City Brass Band, Mountain Song is a programmatic piece descriptive of many happy holidays the composer spent in Mayrhofen in the Austrian Tyrol. On Sundays the village is quiet and peaceful, the only sound being the church bell summoning the faithful. A mountain peak behind the village is a gentle three-hour climb away. The piece opens with the sound of the church bell, dying away as the village becomes more distant. As the climber gets higher the broad panorama of the Ziller Valley is visible through the trees (A & B) . A fresh breeze catches the climber by surprise, rustling the nearby branches (C) and a few steps further on we are above the tree line and the full beauty of the surrounding scenery is revealed (Cantabile). Having rested a while and taken in the views, it’s time to start the climb down and we eventually reach the village again the echoes of the church bell.