Curtain Tune on a Ground

Curtain Tune from a Ground (2026)

for chamber orchestra

2 fl; 2 ob; 2 cl; 2 bsn
2 hn; 2 tpt
timp; perc
strings

Duration: c. 6 minutes

Programme note:

Curtain Tune on a Ground is a reworking of the opening music from BreakBeats, a multimedia event written in 2006. Originally titled 12-Bar Ground, the piece was written for piano, percussion, DJ and breakdancers. This new version is scored for chamber orchestra.

A ‘curtain tune’ is theatrical music played to accompany the raising or lowering of a stage curtain, and historically the term was also used for an overture. A ground, or ground bass, is a short, repeating melodic phrase in the bass that provides the foundation for an entire composition.

This work explores new ways of developing the so-called ‘Rossini crescendo’—an orchestral device popularised by the Italian opera composer Gioachino Rossini, in which layers of melodic, harmonic and rhythmic material gradually accumulate to create a sense of mounting excitement and frenzy.

The title also pays homage to the Curtain Tunes of the British Baroque composers Matthew Locke and Henry Purcell.

Charlie Barber, September 2026