Thomas Doss: Carnival: Concert Band

This work was commissioned by Marktmusik Timelkam to celebrate its 170th anniversary. It describes the cultural life and hustle and bustle of the band’s home base, the Austrian town of Timelkam. Carnival pictures a festive procession starting at the marketplace and lasting well into the night. The work features many ‘carnivalesque’ elements and is a joy for players to perform. There is a lot of merry activity going on in the music; people cheerily chatting in the inn; singing and dancing together and having fun. There is also room for a melancholy mood, accompanied by reminiscences about eternal goodbyes and searching for love. With the added musical representation of children’s playing and pranks, a beautiful sunrise as well as a depiction of the churches and societies in town, this composition is not just an account of a carnival parade but a small portrayal of life.