Glassblowing by Paul Burnell

The quartet gave the much anticipated premiere of Glassblowing by Paul Burnell for the Newark Music Club at the Palace Theatre on Saturday 6th Febuary.
The score included the following information:

“Glassblowing is the process where molten or heat-softened glass is inflated by
blowing air into it with the aid of a blowpipe and worked into the desired shape using
various tools. Objects made using this process include bottles, bowls, jars, window
glass and wine glasses”

The Palace Theatre has a traditional proscenium arch stage and we had a beautiful backdrop behind us. The piece opened to a darkened stage with a spotlight on a table with glasses and bottles of different shapes and sizes on it. We silently walked on stage and began playing the wine glasses one by one. As the sound from the glasses emerged an electronic drone began. We then took our positions and picked up our trumpets for the first movement. The drone continues throughout the piece, the first movement uses block chords and spaces to dramatic effect and the second movement quietly bubbles away with interjecting wah wah effects on plunger mutes. The final movement is a solo muted trumpet recitative followed by a fast paced, rhythmical end.
We absolutely loved performing it because the reaction from the audience was so immediate and diverse. How great to be able to present something new and so theatrical. It has really inspired us all to consider other ways of using both other arts mediums and audiovisual technology in future projects.
We have plans to perform Paul Burnell’s piece again soon and would like to thank him for writing us such a fantastic piece. If you get a chance to see his music performed, do go, I guarantee an artistically satisfying show.