12033 – Seventh Heaven

Roger Harvey (b1949)

for 10 trombones

Difficulty: Hard

Price: £30.00

Programme notes:

1: Pillars of Wisdom - Blocks

2: Colours of the Rainbow - Curves

3: Stars in the Sky - Points

4: Seas - Swashbuckling

5: Swans a-Swimming - Serene

6: Seventh Heaven - Celestial

7: St Ives - Fugue

This piece was written for a programme whose theme was the number 7. Hence 7 short movements each related to well-known relationship with the number.

1: Seven Pillars of Wisdom was a concept originally from the Book of Proverbs: "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars" It was later used as a title to philosophical book by DH Lawrence. Musically this simply consists of 7 different chords linked by a series of quasi-recitative phrases.

2: The seven curving phrases combine, one by one, until the full spectrum is achieved.

3: 7 notes are distributed between 7 players; they can be identified, just as when we look at a constellation of stars, as single points of sound/light or heard/seen in groups or as clusters. (The 7 notes, in the right order, make up a quotation from a famous 'Star' melody)

4: The rhythmic background is a musical pun (7 repeated Cs). There is a flavour here of exploits in the Spanish Main.

5: Calm, still, water: elegant swan shape; paddling feet beneath the surface

6: Rising chords suggesting the progression to the 7th level, the far reaches of the known world, where ancient civilisations believed heaven began.

7: 'As I was going to St Ives, I met a man with seven wives;

   Every wife had seven sacks, every sack had seven cats, every cat had seven kits;

    Kits, Cats, Sacks, Wives; how many were going to St Ives?'

The ever-increasing numbers are suggested by a short fugato which becomes a jazz waltz and the answer to the riddle is exposed at the end.

Performance notes:

As much of the piece is for two groups: parts 1-3 and parts 4-10, a strong player should take part 4. The movements should be played segue.