Cortège for a Coal Mine

Instrumentation: 2 (I = afl, II = picc). 2 (II = ca). 2 (II = bcl). 2 (II = cbsn). - 4 (I = flghn).3.3.1. - timp. - 3 perc. - hp. - strings

Percussion: 1.) Tuned Nipple/Thai Gongs*, Bell Plates†, Tubular Bells 2.) Bass drum 3.) Water Gong, Crotales, Tam-tam

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PROGRAMME NOTE

Cortège for a Coal Mine was written as part of BBC Radio 3’s  ‘25 Pieces’ in which twenty-five composers to respond to an event each year from 2000-2024. I chose the year 2017 when the last deep coal mine was closed in the UK – Kellingley Colliery in Yorkshire. The work takes the form of a passacaglia – a slow, solemn procession built on a repeated bass line whilst a melody is developed above. Beginning and ending with a solo flugelhorn – a nod to the brass bands that grew and developed across the UK’s coal fields – I see the work as a funeral march for the communities and music that were formed alongside Britain’s coal pits and collieries.

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