SKU: HL.14008384
ISBN 9781847723970. 8.25x11.75x0.149 inches.
The complete String Quartet score for Maxwell Davies' Quartet No.6. This work was commissioned by the Naxos Recording Company, and is the sixth in a series of ten quartets. It was first performed on 26th April 2005 at the Purcell Room, London by the Maggini Quartet.
SKU: HL.14008409
This is - so far - the earliest composition by Davies to be available for performance, and mighty interesting it is. Written while he was still a young student, it provides a candid glimpse of the thing that concerned him: how music could be both forward-moving in the classical Western sense (this is, after all, a piece for a wholly conventional medium) and repetitive in the manner of the Indian and medieval music in which he was interested. What results is a singular machine geared to an intermittent ostinato in the first violin. This movement for string quartet was first performed by the Arditti Quartet in May 1983, as part of the 40th Anniversary Gala concert of the Society for the Promotion of New Music at the Barbican Hall, London. Score (miniature). Duration c. 5mins.
SKU: HL.14008396
ISBN 9780711921337. 8.5x12.0x0.533 inches.
This work was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to celebrate its 40th birthday. The first performance took place in June 1986 at St. Magnus' Cathedral, Kirkwall, as part of the tenth St. Magnus Festival. Written for and first performed by Isaac Stern, Davies's Violin Concerto brings together two streams in his music: symphonism and folk-fiddling. In its strongly developed substance, it asks to be measured in the company of Beethoven, Brahms and Sibelius, while there is also, particularly in the middle movement, a strong element of the Scots lament. The orchestra is generally muted in colour, though there is a dramatic role for the timpanist. There are three movements, played without a break - this is only one of many connections with the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. Duration c. 30mins.
SKU: HL.14020990
ISBN 9780711923904. 5.5x7.5x0.283 inches.
If Davies's Cello Concerto has already evoked comparisons with Elgar's, that is perhaps an indication not only of its wealth of solo melody (there is hardly a page where the cello is not singing, or if not that, then dancing), and of its predominantly slow tempos, but also of its musical stature. This second Strathclyde concerto is a virtuoso piece for the entire ensemble, which is used almost throughout as a clutch of soloists rather than as a tutti block. The general tone is one of passionate but interior dialogue, especially in the opening Moderato and the slow movement; and though the finale is more extrovert, the work ends back in quietness and rumination.
SKU: HL.14020992
ISBN 9780711936805. 9.0x12.0x0.185 inches.
Unusually for him, Davies starts his Bassoon Concerto not with slow music but with speed and brilliance: the opening is a Presto, initiated by the strings, and only at the entry of the soloist does the tempo relax to that of a real introduction. Out of this grow a big dancing Allegro. The slow movement begins and ends with a simple song, around fantastical ornamentation from the soloist. The finale is again a recitative and dance, with a slow coda. The whole work is an immense show of stamina, poetry and athleticism for the bassoon, set against an orchestra coloured by low wind (alto flute, clarinet in A, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, horns). Bassoon part with piano reduction of the orchestral score.
SKU: HL.14008367
ISBN 9780711975422. 8.25x11.75x0.105 inches.
Piccolo and Piano Reduction. This work was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It was first performed on 23 April 1997, by Stewart McIlwham and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the composer. The three movements should be played without a break. The piccolo may have obvious limitations as a solo instrument, but Davies is not one to shirk a challenge. What he does is to play with the stereotypical modes of the instrument, so that the military pipe and drum effect is hinted at near the beginning of the third movement, while the jaunty manner is recalled at the close of the first, but as through a veil. A potentially comic partnership with the bass clarinet is also dignified when the two instruments engage in meditative dialogue in the second movement. Duration c. 15 minutes. Study Score on sale. Conductor's score and orchestral parts are available on hire.
SKU: HL.14008366
ISBN 9780711975415. 5.5x7.5x0.164 inches.
Orchestral study score. This work was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It was first performed on 23 April 1997, by Stewart McIlwham and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the composer. The three movements should be played without a break. The piccolo may have obvious limitations as a solo instrument, but Davies is not one to shirk a challenge. What he does is to play with the stereotypical modes of the instrument, so that the military pipe and drum effect is hinted at near the beginning of the third movement, while the jaunty manner is recalled at the close of the first, but as through a veil. A potentially comic partnership with the bass clarinet is also dignified when the two instruments engage in meditative dialogue in the second movement. Solo part and piano reduction on sale. Conductor's score and orchestral parts are available on hire.
SKU: HL.14020966
ISBN 9780711960930.
Orchestral work for school orchestra A short tone-poem which will let a school orchestra glow. Characteristically, Davies finds ways to engage and stretch young players while staying within the bounds of what is practical for them. And as so often, the result is a piece in which he thinks youthfully. This is vividly dramatic music. Score. Duration c. 7mins.
SKU: HL.14021044
ISBN 9780711984813.
Roma, Amor, Labyrinthos for orchestra was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and first performed on 2nd May 2000 at the Barbican Hall, London. The Independent, May 2000: Roma, Amor, Labyrinthus captures the composers recollections of Rome as a student in the late '50s under Goffredo Petrassi, to whom the work is dedicated... [this is] one of Sir Peter's most spectacular scores, evoking the might of the ancient city from a very personal viewpoint. Duration 43 minutes. Conductor's score and orchestral parts are available on hire.
SKU: HL.14021026
8.25x11.5x0.017 inches.
This unaffected but effective piece is a homage to the late Marjorie Linklater, a much-loved friend from Orkney, and a charming set-piece for violinists of moderate ability. The slow introductory adagio serves the function of a fond elegy, proving the simple effect of moving between D minor and D major. It serves the songful quality of the violin, as does the wistful central episode of the main sequence; but an exuberant love of the dance is the essence of the allegro, with the high, bright sonority of the instrument very much to the fore. It was first performed by Julia Robinson Dean at the St Magnus Festival, Orkney, on 21st June 1998. Arranged for solo violin. Duration c. 4 minutes.
SKU: HL.14022647
ISBN 9781846098611. 5.5x7.5x0.101 inches.
This work was commissioned by the Naxos Recording Company, and is the fifth in a series of ten quartets. It was first performed on 20th October 2004 at the Wigmore Hall, London by the Maggini Quartet.
SKU: HL.14020965
ISBN 9780711936959.
The story centres on the English princess Caroline Mathilde (1751-1775), sister of George III, who at the age of 15 was sent to Denmark to marry the 17-year-old eccentric and schizophrenic Danish King, Christian VII. The ballet portrays her unhappy marriage, the King's growing madness and her fatal love-affair with Struensee, the King's influential physician, which leads to their arrest, his execution and her exile, at the age of 20, separated from her two young children. This suite begins with the act's opening number: a boisterous, stamping dance to which the people rudely mock Queen Caroline Mathilde and her lover Struensee. After this comes a dark Adagio, The Conspiracy, in which the theme passes like persuasion from mouth to mouth, its variations suggesting the different attitudes of the conspirators, firmly controlled by the brass-driven gestures of the Queen Dowager. The conspiracy then works itself out at a court masked ball, from which the suite includes two dances: a gavotte, and a slow, lubricious passacaglia that is a pas de deux for Caroline Mathilde and Struensee. The Arrest comes with a gathering rush of music that envelops the King, the Queen and Struensee, leading to a vociferous climax in which they are held apart. In The Execution, slow white music for wordless female voices, harp and low strings is interrupted by pathetic, alienated outbursts from the King. The suite ends, as does the ballet, with a quiet adagio lament for clarinets and alto flute as the Queen goes into exile. Score. Duration c. 33mins.
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