Fanfare for brass octet was commissioned by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2006 for the 80th anniversary concert of the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle. Fanfare is based on the Yle Radio 1 signature tune – a Finnish folk melody fragment from the 18th century collected by the ethnomusicologist, A. O. Väisänen.
The two-minute Fanfare begins by introducing the melody in its original radio-signal form, followed by the actual fanfare passage, in which all the compositional material is derived from the pentatonic theme. The signature theme receives profound contrapuntal treatment by being sliced, augmented, inverted and overlapped and the overall compositional approach respects the virtues of the traditional “brilliant fanfare-style”.
Fanfare was premiered by the brass of the RSO on 15 September 2006 in Finlandia Hall, Helsinki.
Instrumentation
for brass octet
2006
3 trumpets
4 horns (in F)
Tuba