"Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury" - Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

"This fanfare was written in 1959 for the Pageant of Magna Carta held in the grounds of Bury St. Edmunds Cathedral, England. It is in the form of three separate trumpet fanfares (played attacca) which combine in conclusion. The solo fanfares may be played rather freely, but when they come together should be in strict time. The trumpeters should be placed as far apart as possible, even when the Fanfare is played indoors." - Benjamin Britten.

This simple piece is a tribute to Britten's musical genius. Written for 3 trumpets in C, the Fanfare has 'refinement' and 'mysticism'. Opening with solo trumpet, the melody consists predominantly of leaping arpeggio motifs. Britten demonstrates a profound understanding of the instrument - each individual fanfare could, in theory, be played using a natural trumpet, since only the notes of the harmonic series are used. But each part is for a trumpet in a different key (C, F and D) making this a polytonal fanfare! The style of each fanfare is also different, the first smooth, the second is brilliant, and the third heroic. The solo work continues for some time, each trumpet making its own statement, and concludes with a simultaneous performance of all three fanfares, creating a kind of dissonant interplay between the instruments, as the final repetition and development of the piece. The result is three modern fanfares, which when combined blend perfectly, producing the occasional delicious discord on the way. The fanfare finally comes to rest on a consonant chord.

Recordings

Sheet Music

Playing Duration

You can listen to this fanfare being performed by The Wallace Collection here. And buy the CD too!

Surrey Brass use the composer's original arrangement for 3 trumpets.
It's available here!

One short movement,
duration about 3 minutes.

Audience Comments

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