Dali Synopsis
Reviews (initial score and midi generated recording)
Phil Harper (Musical Director Cory Band since 2012) - “congratulations on your magnum opus! I find it a very varied piece where there is always something interesting happening and, in this respect, very representative of Dali's works themselves. The scoring works very well and needs a virtuosic band. I'm intrigued by the harmony too - sometimes quite dissonant, but then also often unequivocally root position tonal.”
Paul Hindmarsh (Retired: BBC Producer, established RNCM Festival of Brass & Artistic Director thereof, Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, Musical Director) - “This is a really interesting score - love the fast music especially and the way you have been able to sustain it over a long span. I can’t tell you how many scores I’ve seen which are in short chunks that don’t add up to much.
The Dies Irae is really skeletal! It was fascinating relating the images to the music.”
Dali Synopsis
Salvador Dali is probably the world’s best-known surrealist artist, famous for pictures of melting watches, and paintings that evoke dreamlike weirdness and wonder. In life, he was a piece of art in his own right.
The music is an attempt to capture the outrageous nature of the Spaniard’s life and work, not bound by simple time signatures, and written atonally, the piece reflects the adventurous, the mysterious, and the downright fun elements of this ‘hyper-personality’, as well as exploring deeper areas of decay, death, sexuality and spirituality.
This piece is dedicated to a dear friend, David Chaulk, who sadly and suddenly passed away in 2018. He was a mentor, and took great delight in hearing this composition as it unfolded, and progressively revised to take on his insightful suggestions.
There is definitely no intention to breach copyright laws with the use of these images, especially as they are intrinsically linked with the inspiration for the music, and no intention to profit from their use. It should be noted that I am currently in dialogue with the Dali Foundation and those that control the estate of Salvador Dali, such that we know what we can and cannot do regarding the use of these images and others being shown during a live performance.
Bjorsvik Brass performed the world premiere of the brass band test piece Dali, by Fendall Hill, in Bergen, Norway on 29 September 2019.
Fendall Hill 2019
Highlights Version with Bjorsvik Brass (Norway)
Full version set to a video presentation of Dali’s work and life
A/NZ $140 UK £70 US $100