Central Ohio Brass Band

Martin Ellerby’s Natalis (Latin for 'of birth') is a symphony in one movement inspired by the life of the composer’s nephew, James Nathan Daniels. The piece is built around a central four-note motif: two ascending fifths connected by a descending step that form an upward-reaching octave. The piece begins with a rhythmically augmented variation on this motif in the low voices supporting a gentle rising scale in the cornets. As the opening unfolds, the scalar theme evolves into a syncopated, modulating melody that carries the central motif through a variety of colorful harmonic landscapes. The entrance of the Dies Irae (Latin chant for the dead) darkens the scene while the solo cornets reprise the rising scale, but in the minor mode. When the central motif returns, it culminates in an open harmony, settling in neither major nor minor. A wistful melody emerges and meanders over rhythmically anxious variations of the central motif swirling beneath the surface. When the growing tension can no longer be contained, the piece erupts into its second section. The central motif is distorted, and its open fifths are compressed into dissonant tritones. Violent rhythmic figures driven by relentless tempo and prominent percussion ricochet around the band, colliding against each other. Suddenly, the momentum slows and the syncopated evolution of the scalar theme returns as a full-throated cry. One last bout of rhythmic energy cannot be sustained, and it collapses into the third and final section of the piece. A grim dirge follows, punctuated by a timpani beat reminiscent of Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration. As the pulse stills, the scalar theme returns gently, as in the beginning. This yields into a reflective hymn-like evolution of the central motif played by the horns. Brighter instruments including metallic percussion are gradually added, driving the piece toward a final, shimmering blaze of radiant sound.