Elements of the Ancients John Brakstad

Serie / Series: Concert Band Originals and Transcriptions

The four elements; Earth, water, fire and air, were the four substances which ancient philosophers believed to be the building blocks of the physical universe. The elements were bound together by their common properties: warm, cold, dry, wet.
For "air", is chosen "Air in motion" i.e. "Wind". But this is not "onomatopoeic" music that tries to describe the four elements.
The music is written from the composer's personal images, and individual listeners can create their own pictures and moods. (So "Water" is perhaps a still mountain lake or a pond in a forest? Who knows?)
Just like The Four Elements, the four movements contain references to each other.

The four movements can be played individually or in combination as you choose they can also be played in a different order.

[NO]De fire elementer; Jord, vann, ild og luft var de fire substansene antikkens filosofer mente det fysiske univers var bygget opp av.
Elementene var bundet sammen ved felles egenskaper som: varm, kald, tørr, våt.
For Luft er her valgt Luft i bevegelse, dvs Vind.
Men dette er ikke lydmalende musikk som fysisk forsøker å beskrive de fire elementene.
Musikken er skrevet ut fra komponistens personlige bilder.
Den enkelte tilhører kan skape sine egne bilder og stemninger.
(Vann er kanskje et stille fjellvann eller skogstjern? Hvem vet?)
På samme måte som De fire Elementene, har de fire satsene referanser til hverandre.

De fire satsene kan spilles enkeltvis, en eller flere satser etter valg.
Dirigenten kan også velge en annen rekkefølge på satsene.

Aufnahme / Recording:Norwegian Dance - New Music for Concert Band 2013-2014
Concert Band Originals and Transcriptions


The four elements; Earth, water, fire and air, were the four substances which ancient philosophers believed to be the building blocks of the physical universe. The elements were bound together by their common properties: warm, cold, dry, wet.
For 'air', is chosen 'Air in motion' i.e. 'Wind'. But this is not 'onomatopoeic' music that tries to describe the four elements.
The music is written from the composer's personal images, and individual listeners can create their own pictures and moods. (So 'Water' is perhaps a still mountain lake or a pond in a forest? Who knows?)
Just like The Four Elements, the four movements contain references to each other.

The four movements can be played individually or in combination as you choose they can also be played in a different order.