Parkour (2010)

For Wind Quintet

Duration 5'15

Composed for the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival

Premiered by the Rodes Farm Quintet at the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival on July 20, 2010 in Wintergreen, VA. 

Program Notes

Parkour is the French art of free-running.  This athletic skill is performed in a variety of locations from rocky wilderness settings to urban cityscapes jumping from building to building.  This art form was created by the French gymnast and stuntman, David Belle.  His military training with the French troupes de marine combined with his experience as a rescuer in a fire brigade, led him to perfect the art of Parkour.

The piece is inspired by the Parkour abilities of David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli.  The two men have appeared together countless times and have both achieved near perfection in the new art form.   The piece is a musical representation of the pure energy and accompanying beauty of this free-running style.

I. City at Dawn

This movement paints an image of a peaceful quite city yet to awake to the norms of urban hustle and bustle.  The transition between the two movements happens without break.

II. L'Art du déplacement 

The title of this particular movement is inspired by the French beginnings of the art form. L’art du déplacement means the art of displacement which is considered an alternative name for Parkour. 

The quiet city portrayed in the first movement is suddenly interrupted by the traceur, a practitioner of Parkour, leaping from one building to another.  He begins to charge through the city, his high energy propelling him from building to building as he skillfully and artfully maneuvers through the city.

- Chris Lamb, June 2010