Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen's 'Mnemosyne Phrases' is to be the set-work for the Elite Division bands to tackle at the 2027 Norwegian National Championships in Bergen next February.

The work was commissioned for Valaisia Brass Band as its own-choice piece for the 2025 Swiss National Championships and later performed by them at the 2026 European Championships in Linz.

Goddess of memory

Mnemosyne was the Greek goddess of memory who gave birth to the nine daughters of Zeus who in turn became the muses of the arts: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Polyhymnia (hymns), Euterpe (music and lyric poetry), Terpsichore (dance), Erato (love poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Thalia (comedy), and Urania (astronomy).

This however is not the direct inspiration behind the Norwegian composer's work, but rather his personal memory of how they interact with each other to create original art.

As the composer writes: "Without remembering, you can't create at all. You cannot be innovative. According to Mnemosyne I write my music because I remember 'something'."

It is that interaction and how those fragmentary memories are transformed into the score that forms the work's four-movement creative structure; slow/fast/slow/fast.

As well as a central emotive core there is an ephemeral acknowledgement to the composer Wilfred Heaton and his compositions — primarily, 'Partita', which the composer feels embraces the concept as successfully as any written for the medium.

The work opens with a 'Prologue' (Lento) followed by a 'Scherzo' (Presto) (Homage a W.H.), an 'Idyllic Illusion' (Grave) and closing 'Capriccioso' (Allegro ma non troppo).

Trigger

In speaking about his work, the composer stated: "When I receive a commission, I usually allow my thoughts some time to figure out which musical ideas might trigger my creativity. With this piece, the process of thinking and brainstorming became a source of inspiration in itself.

So, while writing this piece, I was aware that my ideas come from somewhere. Some ideas are so concrete that I can trace them back to a source of inspiration, such as a particular composer. With other ideas, I have no idea where they come from, other than that they too are based on some kind of transformation of memories."

Without remembering, you can't create at all. You cannot be innovative. According to Mnemosyne I write my music because I remember 'something'Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen

Fantastic contribution

This is the fifth time Aagaard-Nilsen's works have been selected as an Elite Division test piece for the Championships, following 'Seid' in 2001, 'Riffs and Interludes'(2005), 'Mutant Sonorities' (2014) and 'Aubade' (Dawn Songs of the Fabulous Birds) in 2018.

Speaking about the selection, Rune Hannisdal, Director of Music at the Norwegian Band Federation (NMF), told 4BR: "Torstein's work this year is a fantastic contribution to the brass band repertoire, and a work that stands out somewhat from many of the other new works for brass band.

I am really looking forward to hearing this work performed ten times at Grieghallen in February."