Takayama Impressions

This piece was written to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Takayama Wind Orchestra, who also commissioned it. The historic city of Takayama draws numerous visitors from home and abroad, not just to see its well-preserved old houses and buildings but also because every year several historic processions take place, with beautiful floats. When these ride through the city, age-old melodies are heard played on wooden flutes, accompanied by muted drums. This image is evoked at the beginning of the work, followed by an archaic sounding melody in a typically Japanese pentatonic sequence, that develops throughout. In this challenging piece Eastern and Western influences alternate,creating a sensational and overwhelming musical effect!