Zirkus Humberto - MVSR1875 | Music

The inspiration for my piece „Zirkus Humberto“ was not, as often presumed, the same-named novel by Eduard Bass, but rather my own childhood experiences, when I hardly missed any circus guesting in Prague. I admired the precision, bounce and tempo of the acrobats, jugglers and animal trainers. And the humorous stunts of the clowns gave spice to the whole show.
 
As drum graduate of the conservatory I mostly played solo xylophone in the garrison orchestra of Brno. I performed the famous piece “Memory of Circus Renz” for probably a thousand times. Later, when I was director of the Brno military band, I wanted to write a piece in circus style – and so I composed “Zirkus Humberto” for band and xylophone.
 
Just like the stunts in every good circus are determined by precision, dynamics, tempo and drive, so should be the musical interpretation of “Zirkus Humberto” by soloist and band. The performance is particularly appealing when you skip the effective solo for the percussion section in measures 17-37 in the beginning and play it only at the da capo. A fully manned percussion section with all the instruments listed in the score is the ideal case. For a successful effect the percussionists have to pay attention to exact interaction and dynamics. The general rest in measure 36 suits perfectly for some humoristic show elements of the soloist, the percussion section or the whole band.
 
I am very happy that you chose my composition “Zirkus Humberto” and I wish you a successful performance!
 
Jiri Volf