Programme Notes

Damas was written in 2006 at the request of Nick Etheridge. On a practical level I was very keen that this work, though being commissioned by a tubist, should not be a tuba solo as such. Rather, as an idea the piece should feature the tuba as part of a new ensemble with a new work and within itself have varying roles as part of the overall piece. The initial inspiration for the composition of the work came from my time at Wycliffe School during an Easter NYO course.

The walk from my room to the rest of the campus would always see me hearing a beautiful yet slightly relentless chorus of birdsong. Though it would be impossible for me to comprehend the meaning behind these calls, there were several that I could hear everyday and as such I too found myself whistling them or having them in my inner ear during the day.

These varying calls found their way in to the work itself. Alongside this observation was the magnifi cent sight of the surrounding hills, which at night towered against the dimming light and presented themselves in great majesty.

This landscape, it could be said, is represented by the nocturnal essence of the opening sections of Damas, with the frenzied world of aural activity and energy presenting itself in the second half of the work.

Other than these two ideas, which were not directly taken as complete infl uences for the piece, Damas has no other extra-musical infl uences, and in many ways – if not all – I would urge the listener to take from it what they like. After all, a musical composition is for everybody both collectively and individually.