David Farquhar – Scherzo Orchestra ME08: Study score

The composer writes: “My first thought, in responding to the Auckland Philharmonia’s commission for a piece to open a programme, was to write something that would ‘take off’. The opening ideas—a call to attention which builds to release a rushing-away line—followed from this. The elements of this opening—the three repeated notes, the falling bass-line and the scurrying string figures—provide the material from which the rest of the piece grows. “The strong contrasts of the opening, however, continue throughout the movement with frequent surprises as textures and surface rhythms change—sometimes surging forward, sometimes held back. But behind this is the steady one-in-a-bar beat of the classical scherzo, providing a background rhythmic continuity to tie the surface contrasts together. “Looking for a title, I considered descriptive phrases such as ‘…like the wind’, but decided to remain with the traditional Scherzo and to let listeners make their own reactions.”

Recent publications in this series

John Ritchie Papanui Road Orchestra ISMN 979-0-67252-037-9 | Code PME11 | Full score Publication Date 2009 | Publication Format Soft-back score, perfect bound Ralph Vaughan Williams Scenes from Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress Five Vocal Soloists, Choruses, Guitar & Strings ISMN 979-0-67452-110-9 | Code PME14 | Orchestral study score Publication Date 2009 | Publication Format soft-back score, perfect bound Chris Cree Brown Icescape Orchestra ISMN M-67452-036-2 | Code PME10 | Full score Publication Date 2006 | Publication Format Soft-back score, perfect bound John Ritchie Concertino Clarinet & String Orchestra ISMN M-67452-034-8 | Code PME08 | Full score Publication Date 2005 | Publication Format Softback score Jack Body Pulse Orchestra ISMN M-67452-029-4 | Code PME03 | Study score Publication Date 2004 | Publication Format Softback score