An Inspector Calls

Based on the play "The Night Visitors" by English playwright J.B. Priestley. Originally this was a winds & percussion octet as commissioned by Seika High School (Osaka). It was a challenge to present the entire story in just five minutes, so I further explored to express the work as a new concert band piece. This was premiered by Seika High School (Katsuya Yoshinobu, conductor) at their 13th annual concert in 2021. You may already know this play from film or theatre. Set in the home of a wealthy businessman, on an evening when the family is celebrating the engagement of their daughter, they are suddenly visited by a man claiming to be a police inspector. He tells them that a poor woman has committed suicide and uncovers the connection between the woman and the family. The ugly side of humanity emerges, family civility disintegrates, and before they know it, the inspector suddenly vanishes. As it was all an illusion, the family tries to pretend nothing happened. Suddenly, a call comes in from the police. The family freezes, and the story ends with the inspector going to the house alone to ask a few questions about a poor woman who committed suicide. I read this play as a graduate student. It has been a long time since I wanted to express the work in music, but I am very happy to be able to do so. When I was thinking about expressing a wealthy family, an opera by R. Strauss suddenly came to mind, and I was aware of the sense of harmony in some parts. I also thought about capturing the inner world of the characters and how to spotlight various instruments as I wrote the piece. I would be happy if you could play it freely while expanding your imagination.

(Tomohito Matsushita)

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