The Seasons

Following earlier models of Vivaldi and Glazunov, Philip Sparke has taken the yearly cycle of the seasons to inspire a framework for this four-movement suite. Spring Sunshine exploits the wide range of colors available in a concert band to describe a bright spring morning. In Summer Siesta, A rippling figure in the clarinets underscores a calm and serene melody to conjure up a quiet rest by the river on a hot summer afternoon. A solo clarinet opens the intense Autumn Alone, which heralds the approaching dark days of winter, and Winter Winds brings the work to a close as it portrays stormy winter weather in all its fury and glory, but also returns to music from the first movement as winter gives way to spring once again and restarts the yearly cycle.