Westerly Winds

Wind Quintet 11'

Flute-Oboe-Clarinet Bassoon-Horn

Commissioned by the Galliard Ensemble.

First performed at the Purcell Room, London on December 16, 1999.

Symphonic Wind Band version 

Wind Band version Commissioned by Cornwall Youth Wind Orchestras.

First performed by Cornwall Youth Wind Orchestras Conducted by Janet Easton at Princess Pavilions, Falmouth on April 10th 2006

 

Recording

 
The Galliard Ensemble

Kathryn Thomas: Flute, Owen Dennis: Oboe, Katherine Spencer: Clarinet,
Helen Simons: Bassoon, Richard Baylis: Horn

Audio Samples:

Looe Bar Lady
Scrumpy Giles

inc. Comedy for Five Winds

You can purchase this recording direct from Amazon.co.uk



Released 2002 by: Meridian Records CD Number CDE 84429

I. Scrumpy Giles
II. Widecombe Jan 
III. Lazy Lawrence
IV. The Looe Bar Lady

Westerly Winds, commissioned by the Galliard Ensemble in 1999, is a recasting for wind quintet of the orchestral Four Rustic Sketches. It is essentially a sequence of four short fantasias based on West Country folk tunes.

The opening Scrumpy Giles is based on the Somerset tune Farmer Giles, leading off with a formal unison statement of the tune before setting off upon its even-tempered course. Before long, though, the tempo speeds up and the tune finds itself been accorded a far less deferential treatment before a final upward flourish brings matters to a forceful end. The Devon tune Widecombe Fair is the subject of the second movement, Widecombe Jan, and its unruffled manner imparts the music the character of an Intermezzo. The third movement, Lazy Lawrence, is the slow movement proper, and it uses the Dorset folk tune Linden Lea. The calm opening portion of the movement is offset by a more agitated central section which briefly disturbs the peaceful atmosphere. Eventually, Linden Lea restores everything to order with a grand, dignified statement before fading away to a quiet close.

The concluding movement, The Looe Bar Lady, turns its gaze towards Cornwall, with the Helston Floral Dance taking centre stage. Its dominance, however, is not uncontested, as another West Country tune, The British Grenadiers, aided and abetted by Farmer Giles and Linden Lea, repeatedly barges in and threatens to hog the limelight. However, the Floral Dance succeeds in having the last say as the music makes its last frantic dash to the finishing line.

 

Chamber Music
Chamber Orchestra
Children's Music
Concertos
Choral & Vocal
Chorus & Orchestra
Ensemble
Keyboard
Strings
Symphony Orchestra
Wind & Brass

 

Alphabetical List
Chronological list