Thomas Doss

Alienus

Alienus - a word that means more than just the extraterrestrial. It stands for the strange, the unfamiliar, the different. For that which comes from outside - and yet raises questions deep within ourselves.

In this work, it can be many things: an alien, an unknown, a stranger - or a person whose nature eludes our understanding.

In my fantasy for brass band, I tell of an encounter: people meet a sleeping, mysterious being. They look at it with wonder - and fear. They approach hesitantly, driven by curiosity. They explore it, crossing the invisible boundaries of respect and humility - until the creature awakens. What happens next remains unspoken. Everyone may find their own story in the music - or simply allow themselves to be carried by it.

The sound itself draws on an ancient spirit: the hymn "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme", written by Philipp Nicolai in 1599 and later immortalized by Johann Sebastian Bach in his cantata. In the finale, the chorale resounds in full splendor - performed in two different time measures at the same time, like an echo that resonates through the halls of an imaginary church.