Two Pastoral Moods

Description

Allegro – The first of two movements for wind quintet composed for a concert in London in 2017 and given its premiere by the award-winning London Myriad Ensemble. The mood is lively, dance-like, bucolic, with regular shifts in tonality and frequent harmonic twists. Short motifs dart cheekily from instrument to instrument and are occasionally interrupted by more sedate passages, before hurrying to a brusque conclusion.

Adagio – In contrast to the first bustling movement, this is calm, reflective and touched with a certain melancholy, exploiting the darker, fuller colours of the cor anglais and alto flute to evoke a distant landscape. After an initial climax, a flute solo begins a faster section, underpinned by a strong rhythmic figure in the other instruments. With more instruments adding their voices, a sharp upward surge brings the section to a sudden close, ushering in a return to the opening theme, this time given to the clarinet. Echoes of the earlier flute solo add further layers, rising to a full-throated climax of the main theme and thence to a peaceful close.