The piece takes its inspiration from the mountain ranges from one of my favourite countries, Switzerland.
I have visited the Swiss Alps on many occasions and I am still taken back by its sheer awesome beauty with every visit. This commission gave me the opportunity to pay homage to this wonderful landscape and paint my own musical picture of it.
The piece opens with what I imagine daybreak would be like at one of its many peaks. With the sun growing behind the mountain range, the piece builds from a single note to a huge climatic chord revealing Mother Nature’s creation.
Then at rehearsal figure ‘C’ the tempo changes dramatically as we fly through the many slopes of the mountains as if on a manic skiing expedition, revealing the many dangers within the Swiss Alps.
The twists, turns and climaxes begin to die away as we enter rehearsal figure ‘M’ - nightfall over the mountains. As the sun disappears, the sky darkens to reveal the beautiful starlit sky above the mountain range. This middle section starts with the various cadenzas that serve as echoes around the Alps. It then leads to a lyrical solo at rehearsal figure ‘O’ as the moonlight illuminates the icy mountain peaks. A final cadenza to conclude this section highlights the end of nightfall as the sun starts to rise again.
This recapitulation from the opening, signals a new dawn as the sun rises above the snowy peaks once again. The music at this point in its slightly altered state highlights the dawn of a new day in the Alps. The fast manic ski ride follows which takes the piece to its grand finale conclusion.
The idea behind the title of this piece is that the Swiss Alps are so beautiful and vast; I can only imagine that they could be a platform connecting the earth to the heavens above.
Paul Lovatt-Cooper
