Four Courtly Dances

DURATION: 12'00"

DIFFICULTY: 1st+

'Four Courtly Dances' was composed for Brass Band Burgermusik Luzern in 2025 for their Brass & Sport Gala Concert in the KKL Luzern. The work is a tribute to career of Swiss Tennis great Roger Federer with each movement giving a musical 'nod' to the story of his life and career.  Each movement is inspired by a traditional 'courtly' (not in a tennis sense, but that was the idea!) dance:

1. Inspiration (Almain)

The opening movement is subtitled 'Elegance on Court', backed by a deep-rooted sense of Swiss nationlism, featuring a prelude based upon the traditional Swiss song 'Guggisberglied'.

‍

2. Success & Failure (Galliard)

A movement centred around the trials and tribulations of an elite sportsperson, with antiphonal cornet & tambourine groups playing avirtuosic musical tennis match across the band.

‍

3. Rivalry (Sarabande & Canario)

An upbeat movement fused with Spanish and Balkan influences, inspired by Federer's long-running rivalries with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

‍

4. Legacy (Pavane)

A final reflective and uplifting homage to the legacy leftby one of the greatest sportspeople of all time, culminating in a coda whichbrings together all the previous 'ingredients' which made Federer the icon he is.

‍