Pilatus "Mountain Air"-Goff Richards

Goff Richards was a prominent English Brass Band composer and arranger, while also composing for other ensembles.  Some of his notable works for brass band include:  "Pastorale," "Trailblaze," "Doyen," and of course many others.
Pastorale


 Doyen


Trailblaze




Goff Richards was born in Cornwell and attended school at the Royal College of Music (known today as RNCM).  After his studies he became the Head of Music at Fowley School at the impressive age of 21.  After teaching he became a professional musician working with Malcolm Arnold.  He was also responsible for forming five well known ensembles including:  The Goff Richards Orchestra, Burnished Brass, Percusssion Plus and The Arcadians.  Richards recently passed away in June of 2011, his death has been considered a great loss in the brass/composition world.

He composed/arranged 12 pieces for Euphonium including Pilatus.  Most of these pieces are entirely/include a beautiful lyrical section to showcase the beautiful tone of the Euphonium.  Pilatus is one of those pieces that is entirely lyrical and one of my personal favorites.  It was originally composed for Steven Mead and Brass Band Burgurmusik Luzern in 1994.  The Piece describes the Pilatus, the city of Lucerne's famous local mountain.  The mountain has a couple very interesting legends to go along with its history. 

"History
Although the first written reference to Mount Pilatus came in the 13th century, it is believed that the Celtic herdsmen inhabited Mount Pilatus even before that. It was with the completion of the Gotthard route that the real story of Mount Pilatus began. Richard Wagner on reaching the Mount Pilatus in 1859 was overwhelmed with the views from this great mountain. From King Don Carlos of Spain to England’s Queen Victoria and Atlantic explorer Lincoln Ellsworth, all were impressed by the Alpine panorama from Mount Pilatus. (www.switzerlandflexitours.com)"

The two legends are as follows

"The Legends of Pilatus
From time immemorial, local people around Mount Pilatus believed that the tiny lake in the Oberalp dip was to blame for the terrible storms in the area. Devastating thunderstorms appeared as soon as ripples were made in the waters. People feared the restless ghost of Pontius Pilate, said to rise from the waters every Good Friday to wash the blood of Christ from its hands."

"The Dragon Legend of Pilatus

In medieval times, it was believed that dragons with healing powers lived in the rugged clefts and crevices of Mount Pilatus.

In the summer of 1421, a powerful dragon flew to Mount Pilatus and landed so close to a farmer by the name of Stempflin that he fainted. When the farmer came to, he discovered a lump of coagulated blood and a dragon stone, the healing powers of which were officially confirmed in 1509.

The chronicle of Petermann Etterlin tells how Regional Governor Winkelried killed one of the Mount Pilatus dragons: he wrapped a spear with thorn twigs and thrust it into the open mouth of the dragon, finishing the beast off with a sword. In the process, drops of poisonous dragon's blood spurted on to his hand. These drops - and the poisonous breath of the dying dragon - froze the blood in Winkelried's veins and he also met his death.

In the early hours of the morning of 26 May 1499, a wondrous spectacle was seen in Lucerne: after a terrible thunderstorm, an enormous, wingless dragon rose out of the wild waters of the River Reuss at the Spreuer bridge. The beast had probably been taken by surprise by the thunderstorm and washed down from Mount Pilatus in the Krienbach, which flows into the Reuss beneath the Jesuit church. Several well-respected and educated townspeople authenticated the truth of this story."  (www.pilatus.ch)

As you can see, Goff Richards had plenty of inspiration for writing his piece about Pilatus.  From listening to the piece it would seem to me that he focused on the majestic and mysterious qualities behind the mountain while composing.  I think this lead to the beautiful and occasionally mysterious melodies in the piece.