Pligtstykker 2026

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Sektion Open

Pastorale

James Curnow

While the music does not present a great deal of technical difficulty, it will require musical sensitivity and a well thought-out approach to the message of the piece.

The opening bars (espressivo e senza misura) should allow the Euphonium soloist the freedom to be expressive without becoming overly sentimental. These bars should not be conducted but played without measure. A more metronomic tempo begins in bar three where the conductor should begin beating time.

Allow flexibility and shaping of the phrase throughout the setting. The first verse of the song, The King of love my shepherd is (S.A.S.B. 53), is presented at section A. The flow of the music must allow its pastorale nature to be consistent with the text. Muted Cornets play a reference to All creatures of our God and King ('O praise him, O praise him') in bars 59 to 61, and this should be heard above the rest of the music.

The second verse presented (verse five of the original song) is interwoven with original music to continue to enhance the spirit and presence of Christ, the Good Shepherd in each of our lives. Muted Cornets and Trombones bring the setting to a sensitive conclusion in bars 78 to 81 with a reference to 'The Lord's my shepherd I'll not want' (Crimond).

Let the thoughts of the text constantly reflect in the interpretation of the music.

Sektion A

Notturno Religioso

Erik Leidzén

This 'religious nocturne' is based on an evening hymn, the tune of which is by Joseph Barnby with words by Sabine Baring-Gould. The hymn now appears in the Salvation Army Tune Book, No. 766. It is particularly well known and loved in the United States of America. In the United Kingdom the setting is usually 'Eudoxia', a tune composed by the author of the words, T.B. 590.

The piece was played by the International Staff Band on the occasion of a memorial evening of music following the Home call of Erik Leidzen in the winter of 1962. Those who were present are not likely to forget the moving experience, rendered, of course, the more poignant by the circumstance.

This is very tranquil music; in the main it is on the quiet side and any undue dramatization will be detrimental to the meditative concept.

As a suggestion for bringing one's thoughts into the required frame of mind for a sympathetic interpretation, perhaps one cannot do better than refer to the words of the first verse:

'Now the day is over,
Night is drawing nigh,
Shadows of the evening
Steal across the sky.'

Sektion B

Shekinah

Kenneth Downie

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me,
Fill me anew
Spirit of the Lord, fall afresh on me.

This beautiful prayer, for which Paul Armstrong wrote the words and the music, is given a suitably sensitive setting. The episode which links the two settings of the chorus emphasises the phrase 'fall afresh on me'. The music is offered in the hope that the listener will identify with that prayer.

Sektion C

Little Hymn

Simon Dobson

Little Hymn was composed by award-winning composer Simon Dobson (b.1981) to provide an alternative to the traditional hymn tune settings that provide one of the foundations of the brass band repertoire. This simple, hauntingmelody begins on a brass quartet without cornets. The full band joins for the second part, which rises to a richly textured climax before receding to a quiet, reflective close.