Programme Note Terra Incognita (The Unknown Land), Op. 55 was commissioned by Grant Etchegary for a tour of Newfoundland by the Avalon East Band in honour of the Cabot 500 celebrations in 1997. The piece is a musical impression of Cabot's voyage to Newfoundland. A theme representing John Cabot (first presented by a solo clarinet) appears at the beginning and recurs throughout the work. As the piece concludes, quotes from the Ode to Newfoundland and the folksong Bonavist Harbour are heard. The work also involves two improvised sections. In the first, the band represents the rolling waves of the ocean as Cabot's ship sails for the new world. In the second, the band depicts the ship arriving on the shores of Newfoundland: the brass blow air through their instruments to represent the waves rolling on the shore, the percussion recreates the sound of the pebbles falling back as the waves retreat, while the woodwinds represent song birds native to Newfoundland: the white throated sparrow, black-capped chickadee, song sparrow, and fox sparrow. The work gradually builds to a climax with the Cabot theme, the Ode to Newfoundland and Bonavist Harbour uniting in a majestic finale.