Fandango for Horn Quartet

Fandango is an impressionistic tone poem, written in November 1995 for the American Horn Quartet. It was the wish of Mr. Turner to express a passionate Spanish dance in the tradition of Maurice Ravel’s La Valse and Bolero. At the same time he wanted to show case the particular virtuosity of the American Horn Quartet, who premiered the piece in Kerrville, Texas at a concert on April 14th, 1996.

Mr Turner explains the piece as follows:

At the opening of the piece we behold a solitary red cloak, lying motionless on the floor. A very slight breeze glides over the cloak, causing small ripples to form. Suddenly a magic wind blows over the cloak causing it to rise and fall and eventually transform itself into a Spanish dancer. He (or she) is tall and proud, clothed in the spectacular costume particular to the dancers of Spain. We imagine a toreador or a flamenco dancer, and possibly even images from the tango or bolero. In short, it is a colorful impressionistic representation of many famous Spanish dances. The dance reaches a climax, and the closing bars pound out the fandango rhythm in an almost frenzied fashion. At the very end, the magic spell suddenly departs, and the cloak falls lifeless to the ground.