Gates of Day! (2002)

Awake! Arise! The wings of dawn are beating at the gates of day.

When I was asked to write this piece I searched through history books to find an appropriate title and program. Several themes emerged:

Section 1

Bars 1-75 - a celebratory fanfare

Section 2

Bars 77-198 - represent the emergence of 'Australia'. References to Indigenous music are made in bars 76-90 and gradually the land is formed (through tumbling cascades of sound in the band culminating in a loud and wild improvisation by the bells at b184) and the tune Advance Australia Fair begins to be heard. The military band plays Rule Britannia from a distance and marches in with pomp and ceremony. As it does so the music on stage changes to Rule Britannia - the land has been 'invaded' (The Miltary Band exits)

Section 3

Bars 218-266 - an elegy for the indigenous people.

Section 4

Bars 267-381 - the building of a new Australia - fragments of Advance Australia Fair Bars 382-419 - the conflicting voices of Federation

Section 5

Bars 420-end - the emergence and celebration of a new country.

The Premiere took place as the final concert in the 2002 Festival in the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne on Saturday November 3rd 2002, 2pm. 100 brass players consisting of the brass bands of Hawthorn, Brunswick and Footscray-Yarraville; 500 bell-ringers from the VCA, Melbourne University and the regions of Warrnambool - Portland, Knox, Shepparton and Bendigo - the Bell Captain was Graham Leak; The band of the Royal Australian Navy. The work was broadcast on ABC FM.

The conductor was Squadron Leader Graham Lloyd

Instrumentation

• Brass Band:
  Soprano cornet Eb, solo cornet Bb, 1st cornet Bb, 2nd cornet Bb, flugel horn Bb solo tenor horn Eb, 1st tenor horn Eb, 2nd tenor horn Eb, 1st baritone horn Bb, 2nd baritone horn Bb, solo trombone Bb, 2nd trombone Bb, bass trombone G, euphonium Bb, bass EEb, bass BBb


• Percussion - suspended cymbal, tam tam, snare drum, bass drum, tambourine, bell tree


• Timpani


• Lead bells, and bells - can be played by 2 extra players - one on glockenspiel, one on chimes


• Military band

Note:

The brass band part can be played by ONE band. The bells and military band are optional

Duration c. 30 minutes

CHOREOGRAPHY and PLACEMENT OF PERFORMERS

The beginning layout for bars 1-75 is below. Bar 75 is a freely improvised section of approximately 4-5 minutes that explores various ways of striking and sounding the bells. Gradually the bell ringers move to set places for the remainder of the piece - this should be choreographed.

At bar 190 the military band should play Rule Britannia (representing the British) and literally 'invade' the performance, march through the audience with as much pomp and ceremony as possible and exit (still playing) by bar 218. Bar 217 may be a freely improvised section to allow for the exit of the military band.

In the final bar all bells players should play tremolo as loudly as possible.

Artist

• Broadstock, Brenton (1952 - )

Curator

• Mills, Jonathan