Øyvind Moe

Klabb

Klabb was written in 2010 for the brass band at Manger Folkehøgskule and conductor Bjørn Sagstad. The piece consists of a series of short related episodes based on the whole-tone scale, but intermittently tending towards traditional 'major' tonality. 'Klabb' can refer to punching someone - and the piece is certainly meant to pack a punch - but the common meaning of the word comes from snow clumping to the undersides of skis, or more generally, something that makes for laborious progress. The whole-tone scale is directionless in that it has no implicit pull towards a tonal center, complicating the creation of meaningful and believable harmonic development. In this respect, the title can be seen as the composer's expression of frustration with his own choice of basic material (it seemed like a good idea at the time ...). For the performers, the unusual fingering combinations are what constitute the 'klabb'. Good luck, and don't forget to wax!