SKU: S9.Q3688

I have a great fondness for the lower string instruments: I am a bass player, my mother is a cellist, as are both my daughters; my own ensemble includes two violas, a cello and a bass, and for the instrumentation of my opera Medea I omit the entire violin section from the orchestra. As I have written a number of works for solo instrument or voice with orchestra I welcomed the opportunity to write a concerto for cello and orchestra and especially one which focuses particularly on the instrument’s lyrical qualities. Although the piece is in one continuous movement, and the soloist is playing almost without a break, it nevertheless falls into distinct sections which are recognisable by a shift of tempo as well as by a change in the music’s character. One of the early ideas Julian Lloyd Webber and I discussed was that it might form a companion piece to one of the Haydn concertos. Given my friendship with some members of the English Chamber Orchestra and my awareness of their repertoire, this suggested a number of particular musical references. The subtitle to the work, for example, combines the subtitles of two idiosyncratic Haydn symphonies and I allude to them in different ways but chiefly through orchestration: for The Philosopher by including a section in the concerto where the orchestration resembles that of the symphony’s first movement (pairs of English and French horns, muted violins and unmuted lower strings); for The Farewell, by the progressive reduction in the orchestration towards the end. Indeed, apart from the orchestral tutti in the last few bars, the last pages of the score are virtually for string quartet. The subtitle also refers to my own background as a philosophy graduate... The piece was commissioned by Philips Classics for Julian Lloyd Webber and is dedicated to him. The first performance was given by Julian Lloyd Webber and the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by James Judd, 21 November 1995, Barbican Hall, London. Gavin Bryars.

SKU: A0.835814

Bourrée and Hornpipe - Movements 7 and 8 from Water Music Suite No. 1 in F major (HMV 348).  Composed by George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759), arranged by Paul Burnell for instruments in four parts.

Duration if both movements are played three times c.4:30

The arrangement is suitable for multiple quartet combinations with parts available (and potential instrumentations suggested) as follows:

Part 1: C, Eb (flute, oboe, alto recorder, Eb clarinet, violin 1)

Part 2: C, Bb (oboe, tenor recorder, Bb clarinet, violin 2)

Part 3: C - alto & bass clefs, Bb, Eb, F (Bb clarinet, bass recorder, alto saxophone, horn in F, viola) 

Part 4: C - bass clef, Bb, F (bassoon, great bass recorder, tenor saxophone, horn in F, 'cello)

Part 4 may be played an octave lower than written.

Any other appropriate instruments, even if not suggested above, may play.

Although the score is presented with a layout appropriate for string quartet this does not indicate a preferred instrumentation.

Both movements in various editions of the score include direction on playing each movement three times and suggestions for instrumentation (strings first time, wind 2nd time, tutti 3rd time). Performers of this arrangement may choose to devise a similar scheme providing there are enough players in the ensemble.

In this arrangement the range of each part has been reduced, some notes from the melody have been moved to Part 2 and additional rests introduced to assist with breathing for wind players.

Programme note:

The Water Music is a collection of orchestral movements composed by George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759). It was first performed on the River Thames in London on 17 July 1717, in response to King George I's request for a concert on the River.

The Water Music has been published as three suites, and the Bourrée and Hornpipe appear as movements 7 and 8 in the Suite No. 1 in F major (HMV 348).

The Bourrée is a dance of French origin and the Hornpipe is any of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and Ireland from the 16th century onwards.