Concerto for Orchestra no. 1
for symphony orchestra (1985)

14 minutes

Completed in February 1985, the Concerto for Orchestra No. 1 is so named because it observes the traditional three-movement tempo profile (fast, slow, fast) and treats the instrumentation of the symphony orchestra in a concerto-like fashion. However, the organisation of thematic material within each movement bears no obvious connection with traditional procedures of musical design except for the second movement which is based on the ritornello principle.

Rhythms reminiscent of the jazz idiom underlie the thematic ideas of the first movement within a harmonic and textural framework which fulfills a complementary role, but at times also exerts a marked degree of independence. Although through-composed, the movement divides into two major sections connected by an episode begun by solo oboe lightly accompanied by strings and bassoons and taken over by solo flute. Section two is based on an eight bar passage repeated three times in transposition, each time a perfect fifth or higher. A coda combining ideas from both major sections completes the movement, with the cow bell delivering the final statement in a timbral recall of the opening bars.

Sounding against a transparent background of B flats orchestrated with flute, clarinets, harp and viola, the solo horn theme which opens the second movement provides the superstructure for the movement’s other five varied thematic sections. The opening theme is treated as a refrain which reappears in different instrumental guises throughout the movement. Whereas the overall tempo is slow and the mood doloroso, there are two sections of lighter, more jovial character. About three-fifths through the movement, the French horn theme appears in an extended version with added countermelody. Strings and clarinets are the medium on this occasion leading into the main climax of the movement. Solo violin accompanied in the final bars by solo viola brings the movement to a serene close with a varied version of the opening theme.

In contrast to the second movement, with its numerous thematic sections of differing character, the final movement is based entirely on the intervallic material of the opening bars. Nevertheless, three different textural perspectives are explored in the process of presenting the same intervallic combinations. Like the opening section, which is recalled in different guises a further two times towards the end of the movement, the remaining two sections assume quite independent features. The first to be encountered is a motto perpetuo rendering initially carried by the strings and piccolo snare drum but constantly interrupted by woodwinds and trumpets. In the latter part of this section the flutes and clarinets present the same material as the strings, but in thematic inversion. Three arpeggiated chords, comprising a superimposed major third and perfect fifth, sounded by harp, piano and brass provide the "head motive" for the remaining section. This chordal structure subsequently serves to add rhythmic emphasis to the otherwise predominantly linear argument of this section.

© 2001 Philip Bracanin