Cat No. JM47112
Price £64.95
Composer: Rodney Newton
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works)

The 4th. Section Testpiece for the 2008 Regionals.

Duration: 12:30

Four Cities Symphony was commissioned by the National Contesting Council for the 2008 4th Section Regional Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.

Duration: c.11 00’
Movement I — London (c.3’15”)
Movement II — Paris (c.2’15”)
Movement III — Rome (c.3’OO”)
Movement IV — Moscow (c.2’30”)

A short audio extract is provided for you to listen to and get a flavour of the work. Click on "More Details" button on the right to access this extract.

If you enjoyed listening to this extract from this work, you can buy the full CD recording by clicking on the "BROWSE" valve at the top of your screen, then click on the "BRASS BAND CD's" section.

The CD recording is REGIONALS 2008, recorded on DOY CD238.


Programme Notes
This symphony (the composer’s 12th) has four movements played without a break. The first centres on two aspects of the city of London: its history and pageantry and its role as a busy modern metropolis.

The second movement depicts Paris, its street cafes and boulevards and riverside walks, in the form of a romantic waltz.

The third movement is constructed around the Gregorian chants of the Lord’s Prayer (Pater noster, qui es in caeIis) and the Creed (Credo in unum Deum) in an evocation of the city of Rome. After a powerful climax, mysterious tramping footsteps are heard as the ghosts of a Roman legion march through the city by night. The vision fades and the pater noster is heard once again, before the movement is brought to a close with the ancient Ambrosian chant, Christus Vincit, Christus Regnet, Christus Imperat.

The final movement is an evocation of the city of Moscow, with its great historic buildings, its turbulent history and its fiery traditional music. At the outset a rather dour folk-like melody is heard which is transformed into a lively Cossack dance.

This work is dedicated to Howard Wilson, former principal euphonium of City of Coventry Band who, in 1972, introduced the composer to top section brass band contesting.

Rodney Newton, September 2007
Born in England in 1945, Rodney Newton studied at Birmingham’s School of Music (now the Birmingham Conservatoire), before freelancing as a professional percussionist with many of the U.K.’s leading orchestras, including the London Symphony. In 1985, following five years as principal timpanist with the English National Opera, Rodney began to work in films and television as a composer, arranger, musical director and music consultant, collaborating on countless feature films and television series before entering the world of higher education as a specialist tutor. He ran a post-graduate degree course in film music at the London College of Music, taught at the Royal Academy of Music and also the London Film School where he is currently a Music Consultant.
During the "nineties" Rodney became much involved with brass bands, being responsible for the musical arrangements of 2004 Turner Prize-winner Jeremy Deller’s celebrated Acid Brass project. Since that time he has firmly established himself as one of the leading composers in the brass band movement.