Michael Forbes: Bridge: Tuba (Ensemble)

Bridge is a large three movement work or “mini-requiem” for tuba/euphonium quartet and countertenor (optional). It was commissioned to memorialize the life of Brigita Hazners by her sons. The first movement’s text by Bridge herself was written on her will and testament and loosely translates to: “Years pass, desires abate, the pain in one’s breast shall cease.” The third movement text comes from a Latvian folksong and was included in Bridge’s obituary by her husband and can be translated to: “When God invites, then one must follow.” While this composition is very much a depiction of Bridge’s spirited life and ultimate struggle with a tremendously difficult and painful illness, the work is also meant to depict a portrayal of life itself. The first movement, Lament, depicts the ugliness of the world we live in and how we struggle to survive in a time of war, disease, famine, ignorance, and selfishness. Conversely, the second movement, “Spirit” depicts the supreme joy and relentless jubilation that comes with life on Earth. The third movement, Invitation, deals mostly with the contemplation of an afterlife or at least the transition from one life to the next.