Selected Pieces by Ernest Tomlinson Volume 1

Description

Four new arrangements of pieces by the master of English music, Ernest Tomlinson.

Air

Originally written for cello and piano in 1971, the title of this piece is something of a pun: it was dedicated to HRM the Prince of Wales, who played the cello. It has since been arranged for other solo instruments including violin, clarinet, and now flute.

Pourquoi Pas?

This early piece was written whilst Tomlinson was on active service in the RAF near Reims, France, during the Second World War. It was originally a violin piece, as Tomlinson’s commanding officer was a violinist and had met a local family who had a grand piano. Hearing that Tomlinson was studying composition, he challenged him to write a piece that they could perform together to entertain the French family. This jolly, light-hearted piece was the result. The whimsical title Pourquoi Pas? was taken from the name of a local café popular with the airbase troops.

Linda’s Dance

During the late 1950s and through the 1960s, Tomlinson’s main compositional output was orchestral music for use as background music in radio, films and television, which resulted in many charming melodic miniatures like Linda’s Dance. This piece was originally orchestrated for alto flute solo, and later published as part of Tomlinson’s first Light Music Suite. Linda’s Dance was simply named for his youngest daughter Linda, who was fond of dancing.

Chadkirk Idyll

“On receiving the request to write this piece, the description of Chadkirk and its history conjured up for me an imaginary picture back in history. The mental image of a small and lonely chapel in the river valley at the base of a windswept hillside inspired the melodies around which the Idyll was shaped.” – Ernest Tomlinson

One of Tomlinson’s last compositional works, Chadkirk Idyll was commissioned in 2002 as a duet for recorder and guitar, and shortly afterwards rescored for recorder and string quartet. This arrangement for the more usual flute and piano combination was made at about the same time.