Trumpet Concerto (2022)
(night-sky-blue)

The starting point for Helen Grime’s Trumpet Concerto was the theme of night, in particular nocturnal gardens. Her inspiration came from a book of photographs depicting scenes from the natural world taken after darkness had fallen. Images of organic growth and the nocturnal life filled the composer’s mind and are reflected in music that is in a constant state of transformation.

The concerto is in a single movement, the music evolving over a series of interlinked sections. It begins in a mood of hushed stillness, over which the trumpet introduces an expansive melody. Gradually the solo line becomes more elaborate and virtuosic. As the music moves into its second section, a rhythmic, percussive motif is fired back and forth between soloist and orchestra. The music continues to spin and gain momentum, whilst alternating with freer, dreamlike passages in which vibraphone and harp hover in the background. Increasing in speed and intensity, the concerto finally reaches its climax with an explosion of orchestral colour. In its wake comes a return to the stasis of the opening music.

The work’s subtitle, night-sky-blue, is taken from a poem by Fiona Benson.

Programme note © 2022 Chester Music Ltd.