Stamping Ground

Stamping 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:

‘Stamping Ground’ for chamber orchestra brings together two musical obsessions. One is the ground bass of 17th-century British music: a repeating bass line that keeps the music anchored while everything above it shifts and develops. The other is retro minimalism — bright, punchy and full of forward momentum.

The title Stamping Ground also evokes a favourite place or familiar territory, as well as the patches of grass and soil stamped down by large animals where they regularly gather.

The piece plays with these ideas of repetition, momentum and place — music that keeps moving and shifting whilst always rooted to the ground.

Charlie Barber, September 2026