Groundhog Mamba
Christian Lindberg

Having written the piece "Condor Canyon" for trombone and brass quintet, it was a great challenge and joy for me to get the commission for a similar piece, specifically for the brilliant trumpeter Ole Edvard Antonsen and the phenomenal Spanish Brass. The fact that I was asked to include myself in the piece felt of course only as a bonus. To find a name for such a piece was not easy, but after listening to the piece in my brain time after time, the name suddenly came up in my head: "Groundhog Mamba"… A Mamba is a very beautiful green snake that lives in Southern Africa, and a groundhog is a strange and quite ugly animal that in America has been honored with a special day called "Groundhog Day". I do not know if you feel any wiser from this programme note, but I do really hope that you will enjoy listening to what I have written for the world virtuosic musicians Ole Edvard Antonsen and Spanish Brass… I will try to keep up with them myself…