Beyond the Falls – The Smoke That Thunders
Andrew Wainwright
Revised and expanded version (2026)
General Info
- Year:
- 2012 / 2026
- Publisher:
- Prima Vista Musikk (PVM205A; score PVM205AS; study score PVM205SS)
- Cost:
- Score and Parts – £84.95 | Score Only – £31.95
Movements
Single movement. The seller’s note describes sections by rehearsal letter: an apprehensive opening, a more optimistic passage on the Scottish song A Man’s a Man for a’ That, the hardships of the expedition (letters F–L), a reflective section on the hymn Lord, Send Me Anywhere (letters L–R), and a final section (letter R to the end) ending at the falls.
Programme Notes
The music follows the Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone on the journey that brought him to the Victoria Falls, known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya, “the smoke that thunders”. Wainwright first wrote it for the GUS Band at the 2012 Brass in Concert Championships and expanded it in 2026 for the Black Dyke Band’s recording Gothique Fantasy.
Publisher’s programme note: Studio Music
- Audio CD: Black Dyke Band (Nicholas J. Childs), Gothique Fantasy: The Music of Andrew Wainwright, Doyen, cat. CD455
Contest Use
Full contest history, revised version; including 2 own-choice uses: Brass Band Results
Works for Brass Band by This Composer
Original Works
Categories: Compositions | 2012 | Test Pieces
Suggest a correction to this page.
Sources
All read 8 November 2026.
- Composer's work page: dated 2025, 2012 origin, 2026 expansion, 2026 National Finals use; no grade or duration: https://www.wainwrightmusicmedia.com/brassband/beyond-the-falls---the-smoke-that-thunders
- Composer's news post: publisher Prima Vista Musikk, National Finals First Section at York Barbican, 19 September 2026: https://www.wainwrightmusicmedia.com/post/beyond-the-falls-the-smoke-that-thunders-selected-for-great-britain-national-contest
- Composer's brass band works list (Beyond the Falls dated 2025): https://www.wainwrightmusicmedia.com/brassband
- Publisher, catalogue number, score-and-parts price, origin and 2026 expansion, seller's difficulty label and 13:30 duration, description: https://studio-music.co.uk/pvm205a-andrew-wainwright-brass-band-beyond-the-falls-the-smoke-that-thunders
- Score-only catalogue number and price: https://studio-music.co.uk/pvm205as-andrew-wainwright-brass-band-beyond-the-falls-the-smoke-that-thunders
- Study-score catalogue number and price: https://studio-music.co.uk/pvm205ss-andrew-wainwright-brass-band-beyond-the-falls-the-smoke-that-thunders
- Contest Use (date 19 Sep 2026); year 2026 for the revision; original 2012 version: https://www.brassbandresults.co.uk/pieces/beyond-the-falls-the-smoke-that-thunders-revised
- 2026 National Finals set work (First Section), publisher Prima Vista Musikk, 12-minute duration: https://4barsrest.com/news/63505/2026-national-finals-test-pieces-announced
- Media (Black Dyke Band, Gothique Fantasy, Doyen CD455); David Livingstone subject: https://4barsrest.com/reviews/products/cd806.asp
- Prima Vista Musikk website (no catalogue): https://primavista.no/
Notes
- Version. This page is the revised version. Studio Music and Brass Band Results say the work was first written for the GUS Band's performance at the 2012 Brass in Concert Championships and expanded in 2026 for the Black Dyke Band's recording. Brass Band Results has a page only for the revised version (the unrevised URL returned 404). Who conducted or played the 2012 performance beyond the band is not stated.
- Grade and duration. Left empty. Prima Vista Musikk's own website (primavista.no) is a placeholder with no catalogue, and no composer's page for the work was found. Studio Music, which sells the work, shows "Difficulty E - Difficult" and "Duration 13.30"; 4barsrest gives 12 minutes. Studio Music is a seller here, not the publisher, so neither its grade nor its duration is used. Studio Music uses the same letter scale for other publishers' titles, so the letter is taken to be the seller's label rather than Prima Vista's own grade (unconfirmed).
- Instrumentation. Left empty. No preview score or parts list was found for this work.
- Year. 2012 is the original Brass in Concert version and 2026 the expansion. Brass Band Results gives 2026 for the revised piece.
- Cost. Prices are from Studio Music, the seller (brassband.co.uk shows the same score-and-parts price). The study score is £21.95.
- Media. The release year of the Black Dyke CD is not stated in the review read. Track timings are not given.
- Contest Use. The National Championship of Great Britain First Section final was held on 19 September 2026 (Brass Band Results), at York according to 4barsrest.
- Composer's site (read 2026-11-08). Andrew Wainwright's own site (wainwrightmusicmedia.com) has a page for the work. It confirms the 2012 Brass in Concert origin with the GUS Band, the 2026 expansion for the Black Dyke recording, the 2026 National Finals First Section use, and Prima Vista Musikk as publisher. It gives no grade, duration, instrumentation or premiere details, so those stay empty.
- Year conflict. The composer's site dates the work 2025, in its works list and on the work's page, while the same page says it was composed for 2012 and expanded in 2026. Brass Band Results gives 2026. The page keeps 2012 / 2026; 2025 may be when the expansion was written.