Mike Forbes

4 Miniatures

Salutations, the first of the 4 miniatures, was originally written as a concert opening for the US Army Brass Quintet, hence the very free military signals that appear here and there. The other movements develop from the elements of the first movement. The Toccata finds its inspiration in the 2nd movement of Four Sketches (1989), the magnificent quintet by Anthony Plog (Editions Bim). This movement makes use of various combinations of mutes and reeds to bring out the virtuosity of the winds. The Lament leads into a meditative atmosphere where the particularly warm timbres that a brass quintet can produce are exploited. The last movement, Jubilation, summarizes the entire thematic material of the previous miniatures before the work ends in a musical exclamation mark.