Trombone Concerto: The Book of Miracles
Instrumentation: 3 (II & III = picc). 3 (III = ca). 3 (III = bcl). 3 (III = cbsn). - 4.3.3.1. - timp. - 4 prc. - pno (= celesta). - 2 hp. - strings
Percussion:
1.) Glockenspiel; Suspended cymbal; Sizzle cymbal; Tubular Bells; Sanctus bells; med/small Tam-tam; Wooden wind chimes; 4 Tom-toms
2.)Metal wind chimes; Crotales; Tam-tam (shared with Prc.3); Maracas; Tambourine
3.) Tubular bells; Tam-tam (shared with Prc.2.); Suspended cymbal; Low rain stick; 3 Bongos (or 2 + small tom if 3 Bongos unavailable)
4.) Sleigh bells; Bass drum; Whip.
PROGRAMME NOTE
The Book of Miracles is a recently discovered 16th Century German manuscript made up of 167 surviving sheets, depicting in vividdetail miraculous signs, natural catastrophes and Christian myths. Bookended with depictions of biblical events – including storiesfrom the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation – and overflowing with striking images of comets, fantastical beasts, miracles,celestial apparitions and other astronomical events, the manuscript is both an exceptional and unique work of renaissance art butalso a comprehensive record of natural and supernatural phenomenon from antiquity to middle of the 16th Century.
There are three types of ‘celestial apparition’ that recur throughout the manuscript: namely comets – whose sudden appearance inthe night sky are here depicted as portentous omens; parhelia – caused by refractions of light passing through ice crystals in the air,the illustrations of which are some of the most impressive in the book; and both solar and lunar eclipses. Together they formperhaps the most striking and evocative images within the manuscript:
The illustrations of celestial apparitions are particularly fascinating for the modern viewer, since the vividness and care with whichthey are depicted manifest, an almost scientific interest that looks ahead to the future and seems strangely contradictory in thecontext of portents and miraculous signs.
The final 21 plates are concerned with the book of Revelation. Fantastical images of angel trumpeters, heavenly battles, and sevenheaded beasts are depicted with almost playful abandon. From these images I have drawn inspiration for the four movements of this concerto:
I Comet
II Parhelia
III Eclipse (cadenza)IV Revelation
