Composition Notes
At age 19, Michael Maw began working on a new composition for brass quintet. He finished it on Dec 22, 1999 and titled the piece “Spectral Myths”. It received its premiere performance by several of his university friends not long after. The work was dedicated to his good friend, Tannis Guiboche (later Blacksmith) who he had recently travelled to visit in The Pas, Manitoba. However, the title of the piece later bothered Michael, as he thought it lacked any kind of meaningful relationship to the actual music. 24 years later he renamed the piece as “Outpost” and also created a new arrangement for large orchestra.
Instrumentation
- Piccolo
- 2 Flutes
- 2 Oboes
- 2 Bb Clarinets
- 2 Bassoons
- Contrabassoon
- 6 Horns in F
- 3 Bb Trumpets
- 2 Tenor Trombones
- Bass Trombone
- Tuba
- Timpani
- Xylophone
- Bass Drum
- Cymbals
- Triangle
- Celesta
- Harp
- 1st Violins
- 2nd Violins
- Violas
- Violoncellos
- Double Basses
