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Serenata (1983) |
For string orchestra or ensemble - c. 17'
Serenata was commissioned by Michael Brittain with funds made available by the Southern Arts Association. It was first performed by the Serenata of London in 1983. The title denotes a more traditional mode of composition than is usual for the composer. Although continuous, it falls into three sections, beginning with cascading arpeggios rising and falling from a single note to develop into the first theme on the violins. This establishes the modal material which governs the work and forms an introduction.
The second section is a slow contrapuntal movement with a palindromic design in the first statement. There is a passionate melodic central episode rising to a high climax before the coda. Fluty harmonics bring it to a close before the third section bursts through with pizzicato chords under a roaring melody. After some development the material is transformed into a fugue, which, as the focal point of the work, transforms all the material that has gone before into a dense and involved texture.