This piece was written in the spring of 2023 in collaboration with Adam Warnke. In Julius Caesar’s writing on the Gallic Wars, he mentions the use of a trumpet to signal an attack during the battle of Alesia, “hearing the shout, Vercingetorix gave his troops the signal by trumpet, and led them out of the town.” Though a brief mention, the idea of representing this moment in a work for solo trumpet was interesting to me. Upon further research, I came across the magnificent instrument known as the carnyx, a massive Gallic trumpet which was used in ceremonies and war time. The piece follows the timeline of this final battle of the war. Opening with distant Roman signals in the encirclement of the town of Alesia, leading into the attack of the Gauls in three separate desperate attempts to relieve the town, and finally ending with the mourning call of a fading carnyx, defeated but not forgotten.

Special thanks to my brother Finn for assisting in finding the Latin sources used for some of the pitch material in the work.

The performer in this video is:

Adam Warnke - Trumpet

Thank you for listening!