SKU: HL.14014459
In its original form the Suite was written in answer to a commission from the Farnham Festival and was first performed on 11 May 1971. I was, however, not entirely satisfied with it and did not pass it for publication until 1982, when I revised it in considerable detail. In its revised form it was first performed on 18 June, 1983, at Monash University, Melbourne. The music requires little explanation. The titles of each of the five movements indicate their character: 'Fanfare'; 'Dance', which has Elizabethan overtones; 'Popular Song', which explores jazz rhythms and harmonies; 'Ceremony' - a solemn chorale; and 'Finale', a light-hearted Rondo with fugal touches. The overall intention is simply to entertain both the players and their audiences.
SKU: HL.14031968
Contemporary British composer Brian Kelly has composed a series of place-inspired suites, including the Cuban Suite and the New Orleans Suite. The Suite Parisienne's four movements suggest the Paris of years gone by - Quartier Latin, Promenade, Memoire, Moulin Rouge - in music that shows a deep understanding of brass instruments and a lively, sophisticated setting of melodies that are almost, but not quite, French tunes. The solistic opportunities for each instrument are generously shared and the three livelier movements make a brilliant frame for the longing tone of the Memoire movement.
