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Kelly, Bryan: Whodunnit. Suite for Trumpet and Piano

Ref: H442 ISMN: 9790220220982 Categories: , , By:

£8.50

Standard: Intermediate

Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot is ‘set to music’ for the first time, along with a cast of suspicious characters including Lavinia Lurex (Actress), Miss Slight (Spinster of this Parish), Colonel Glib (Retired) and, of course, The Chief Suspect. Dedicated to actor David Suchet, and ending with a dramatic chase, this uproarious suite of pieces will delight trumpet players of Grades 4 to 5 standard and above.

1. Poirot (Detective)
2. Lavinia Lurex (Actress)
3. Colonel Glib (Retired)
4. Miss Slight (Spinster of this Parish)
5. The Chief Suspect
6. The Chase

 

The characters in the murder mystery are quickly identifiable: in the D minor first movement (dedicated to actor David Suchet) the tango-like quality gives Poirot his distinctive Latin flavour. Lavinia Lurex, the character for the second movement, is a lounge lizard from the smoking, jacketed, art-deco ballroom set who is given a slow, romantic, swing-style ballad.

Colonel Glib (retired), the third movement character, appears in a pompous march involving some tricky A major finger work — the colonel obviously has very poor taste in jokes, as revealed by the Land of Hope and Glory ending. The movements are linked by recurring motifs or similar chord progressions. Miss Slight, Spinster of this Parish in the fourth movement, has spent many hours in the local church pew, as revealed by her 3/4 religioso section. In the fifth movement, the Chief Suspect gets the ‘boo’ treatment with melodramatic muted ‘look behind you!’ quotes in the trumpet part. An energetic 6/8 chase brings the suite to a most satisfactory finale, and a lot of fun will be had for all the participants.

Kevin Street, Music Teacher Magazine

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