I wish this were a real performance (I have tapes of two, but they're very old and poorly recorded).
My 1979 Clarinet Concerto will be published later this year. I've finished revising the score, and I'm just completing the piano reduction - so boring! Here's an adequate computer rendition. You'l need to play it through good speakers or headphones (the computer's internal speakers won't be enough). Also, it's at a fairly low level.
But it's quite a good rendition.
The concerto was one consequence of meeting a very gifted clarinetist in March 1979. It was written very quickly (at least for me) with the central Romanza completed within three weeks in April and May, and the Preludio during July. The final Scherzo was begun on 3 August and finished on 22 October, by which time we were engaged to be married. Quick work (this is the future first Mrs Pabs of course - who is still a good friend, as well as of the second Mrs Pabs - comparing notes, I guess!).
The concerto is heavily influenced by Gerald Finzi’s. The opening movement, Preludio – Andante con moto, is the longest and loosely follows sonata form, contrasting a wistful but determined melody with a more joyful and lighthearted one. The whole is highly chromatic and seems reluctant to remain in one key for long. At the end, the wistful melody is transformed to give a gentle and contented conclusion. The central Romanza – Adagietto is built around a subdued melody that eventually rises to a passionate climax, but not before the clarinet has shown its skill in performing arabesques. The last movement, Scherzo – Vivo, is based upon a six-note cipher of the dedicatee’s name – A-E-F-E-G-E. This is heard first in the strings before the clarinet enters with a rondo-like theme based on the same phrase. A second cipher, this time based on my name, makes a brief appearance. A more lyrical theme (itself a variant of an earlier one) is the second subject. The opening theme returns but the momentum slackens until a theme from the first movement ushers in a gentle version of the second subject. The music dies away until the opening clarinet theme from the Preludio begins the coda, which is based entirely on repetitions of the six-note cipher, providing both the melody and harmony for the build-up to the final flourish.
My memory of 1979 is of sunshine and the dedication - 'for Anne in sunshine' - reflects this. The first performances were given by Anne Ferrige on 5 November 1979 and 19 May 1980 at Winchester School of Art. She also gave it at the RCM, though with piano.
First movement:
Second movement:
Third movement:
The score and piano reduction will probably not appear before September, but if there's anyone who'd like one (a freebie, unless I get dozens of requests) perhaps you'd PM me.
Don't expect anything 'modern'.
My 1979 Clarinet Concerto will be published later this year. I've finished revising the score, and I'm just completing the piano reduction - so boring! Here's an adequate computer rendition. You'l need to play it through good speakers or headphones (the computer's internal speakers won't be enough). Also, it's at a fairly low level.
But it's quite a good rendition.
The concerto was one consequence of meeting a very gifted clarinetist in March 1979. It was written very quickly (at least for me) with the central Romanza completed within three weeks in April and May, and the Preludio during July. The final Scherzo was begun on 3 August and finished on 22 October, by which time we were engaged to be married. Quick work (this is the future first Mrs Pabs of course - who is still a good friend, as well as of the second Mrs Pabs - comparing notes, I guess!).
The concerto is heavily influenced by Gerald Finzi’s. The opening movement, Preludio – Andante con moto, is the longest and loosely follows sonata form, contrasting a wistful but determined melody with a more joyful and lighthearted one. The whole is highly chromatic and seems reluctant to remain in one key for long. At the end, the wistful melody is transformed to give a gentle and contented conclusion. The central Romanza – Adagietto is built around a subdued melody that eventually rises to a passionate climax, but not before the clarinet has shown its skill in performing arabesques. The last movement, Scherzo – Vivo, is based upon a six-note cipher of the dedicatee’s name – A-E-F-E-G-E. This is heard first in the strings before the clarinet enters with a rondo-like theme based on the same phrase. A second cipher, this time based on my name, makes a brief appearance. A more lyrical theme (itself a variant of an earlier one) is the second subject. The opening theme returns but the momentum slackens until a theme from the first movement ushers in a gentle version of the second subject. The music dies away until the opening clarinet theme from the Preludio begins the coda, which is based entirely on repetitions of the six-note cipher, providing both the melody and harmony for the build-up to the final flourish.
My memory of 1979 is of sunshine and the dedication - 'for Anne in sunshine' - reflects this. The first performances were given by Anne Ferrige on 5 November 1979 and 19 May 1980 at Winchester School of Art. She also gave it at the RCM, though with piano.
First movement:
Second movement:
Third movement:
The score and piano reduction will probably not appear before September, but if there's anyone who'd like one (a freebie, unless I get dozens of requests) perhaps you'd PM me.
Don't expect anything 'modern'.
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