Violin Concerto

Orchestration: Solo Violin, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet in B flat, Bassoon, Horn in F, Trumpet in B flat, Bass Trombone, Percussion (1 player): crotales, triangle, snare drum, tubular bells, whistle, glockenspiel, vibraphone, gong (optional), Harp
Strings (Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, Bass [1 to low C])

I have often found that being asked to write a particular work can be the greatest source of inspiration, and this work is no exception. At the time Em Marshall-Luck (founder and director of the English Music Festival) suggested I might like to write a concerto for her husband, violinist Rupert Marshall-Luck, I had in fact been suffering a period of creative depression and hadn’t written anything for about nine months. So this invitation couldn’t have come at a better time and feeling challenged, but inspired by the idea, I completed the work in just five weeks.
Taking three words which best summed up my emotional state at the time ‚Lonely, thoughtful, passionate‘ the 1st movement opens very quietly with a mysterious music of empitness. Slowly gaining in tempo and dynamic this leads to a more dramatic section where the violin seems to almost outrun itself, before returning to the rather sparse ambiguity of the opening.
The central slow movement is one of deep emotion and was written following a visit to my mother’s grave in Penzance and gives the piece its title, ‚Beside a grave in Cornwall‘. It is a stark reflection on love, life, loss, and the ultimate journey we must all undertake, and while there is a strong underlying pain to the music, I also feel there is a beauty and acceptance within its sadness.
In contrast to the first two movements, the final one has no agenda. Marked ‚Continuously running‘ it merely conveys a general feeling of energy and joy, although it is interspersed with quiet sections of a dream-like-nursery-rhyme quality. However, with a sudden twist to the proceedings the main key of G major suddenly shifts to E minor and the work ends with a nod to the starkness of the slow movement. Paul Carr

A PACK includes a full score, string parts 4/4/3/4/2 and all wind, brass and percussion parts.
A violin and piano reduction is also available – GM159
Duration 20 minutes

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