Philip Sparke

Infinity And Beyond...

The last decades of the 20th century saw man's first steps in space exploration. Since the first moon landing by Neil Armstrong in 1969, these adventures in outer space have captured the public's imagination and have given birth to scores of science fiction movies, books and TV series that have tackled the subject. Infinity and Beyond... takes as its inspiration the wonderful film scores of composers such as John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith, who have almost invented a style which could be called 'space music'. Opening with a rhythmic bass figure, Infinity and Beyond... begins with a robust introduction in 3/4, which leads to the main theme in 4/4, played by the full band. Ashort bridge passage, utilising the interval of a fourth, leads to a modal central section, featuring first the trumpets and then played by the whole band; this in turn leads back to a repeat of the introduction until the main theme returns to bring the piece to a close.