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In the introduction to the work, Michael writes:

 

"Gromignana is a small village in the mountains near Lucca, Italy, an area where I have written on a number of occasions. From first seeing it I envisaged a brass ensemble on the opposite mountain, imagining the sound floating across the valley. This is the essence of the first movement which is almost regal in character. The second makes reference to the square in Lucca outside the house where Puccini was born. Here is a young man, confident and strutting, with a lust for life that was so evident in Puccini. For the third movement I had in mind a nearby village where in the second world war a battalion of black US soldiers fought a heroic battle in the narrow streets, their efforts still unrecognized by the military. An inverted opening of ‘Old Man River’ and a fragment of ‘Little Brown Jug’ make up the thematic material. The work closes with reference to the bridge where the river, Torrente Lima, moves in a stately way past my favourite café. The piece as a whole was commissioned by the Albion Brass Consort as a tribute to Philip Jones who died in 2000. His contribution to brass music was magnificent."