A Colour Symphony

Philip Sparke’s third symphony, A Colour Symphony, was commissioned by “sinfonischen blasorchester wehdel” conducted by Thomas Ratzek. In the five movements (white, yellow, blue, red and green) the composer creates links betweenthe instrumentation and harmonic elements and the actual colour of the spectrum the movement stands for. In order to create the greatest richness possible, Philip Sparke used a very large instrumentation including low woodwinds, harp, piano andcelli. A Colour Symphony is an impressive and iconic addition to the standard repertoire for large symphonic bands.