After they got to the sunrsie

(2011) 2(+)’

Group 1 - 2Tpt.

Group 2 - Tpt. 3Tbn. 2B.Tbn.

Programme Note

So many times, the characters in a film end up walking into a glorious sunset, and it signals to us, the viewers, the ‘happy ending’ has happened and all is well in the world. In this piece, I try challenge this. My characters have gone into the sunset, walked for hours further then what we see, until the sunrise. Whilst the sun rises, they run into a giant canyon and the path is blocked; they cannot go any further. All they can do is scream and argue. What we hear are the echoes of their shouts reverberating off the canyon’s stony walls. They’ve been through all emotional states, and these also begin to echo.

After they got to the Sunrise was written at the request of Graham Fitkin as part of his Ether Festival. Players from Trinity College of Music, London, premiered it at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 24th March 2011.

Liam Mattison (London, February 2011)