Omaggio Nelson Mandela

This new score, for 24 brass instruments and 3 percussion, was written in the wave of global emotion triggered by Nelson Mandela’s departure. Vital breath, energy, meditation, light and radiance of a man. Courage and benevolence. Just a few words to set the musical text, its poetic momentum and its structure. In a “Largo Maestoso” tempo, this score, written at the suggestion of Jean-Paul Secher – Éditions Musicales Artchipel – and Benjamin Garzia – conductor of the Brass-Band de l’Armée de l’Air, Paris – gradually launches the breath and resonance of diverse metallic percussion towards the majestic radiance of this singular and sumptuous instrumental family: brass. Far from any heroic or extrovert form, the text deploys both broad harmonies, like so many colors, climates, sort of derivatives of the initial breath, but also some melodic elements of extreme simplicity.
The material of silence is the source. The projection of sound space in a fusion of percussion and brass metals is its conquest. The peace of silence is measured by the light of sound radiating from the space. A concert hall where everyone breathes the same air.

Philippe Schœller