Stijn Aertgeerts

Red Lines

Red Lines was commissioned by the Swiss Army Brass Band and their conductor Philipp Werlen. The title is a reference to their very distinctive black uniforms with Red vertical lines. Switzerland is a country with a tremendously rich brass band culture and have some of the best bands in the world. The individual level of musicians is also of incredibly high quality. The work begins very bombastically with continuous 8th notes. This immediately sets the drive for the entire first movement where the low brass and woodwinds can also show off huge sounds several times. It culminates in a grand tutti before the music calms down in the second movement where the euphonium can show its solistic qualities and the band can show a big difference in dynamics and sound. The final movement is driven by the drums and timpani that provide a solid boost to keep moving the thematic material forward in the band and through the percussion solo a big build-up to a glorious finale.