Lennox Berkeley

Work for Oboe Violin Viola and Cello. Parts available: CH56341.This quartet was commissioned by the Institute of Contemporary Arts and written in the autumn of 1967. It is dedicated to Lady Norton and is the second of LennoxBerkeley’s three works written with the oboist the late Janet Craxton in mind the other two being his Sonatina OP 61 and Sinfonia Concertante OP 84.The work begins with a fairly extended introduction leading without a breakinto an Allegro. The whole composition is based on the internal of a third (sometime major sometimes minor) which is heard in the opening phrase of the introduction and again in the main theme of the Allegro though here in atotally different context. The allegro is in more or less traditional sonata form. The middle movement is a kind of Scherzo growing out of a rhythmical figure for the strings and a rapid arpeggio (major and minor chords) forthe oboe. This is a Presto; a more relaxed middle section corresponding to the Trio in a classical work is followed by a much shortened version of the Scherzo. The last movement is brief but very slow all four instrumentstaking up in turn a gently rocking figure that moves to and fro between two notes always a major or minor third apart. The music becomes more animated but returns to the opening figure and dies away each instrument droppingout one after the other leaving the cello alone in the last bar.

Opera in one act four scenes. Solo voices: 3 Sopranos Mezzo-Soprano 2 Baritones Bass. With SATB Chorus and Orchestra. Libretto: Paul Dehn. This Opera was designed as a companion piece to A Dinner Engagement.

Work for Clarinet Horn and String Quartet. Commissioned by the BBC for the 1955 Cheltenham Festival. Parts available: CH56200

Premiered by Frederick Ginke Watson Forbes and James Phillips in the Wigmore Hall in August 1944. Score available: CH00259

2 Piano Version-This item includes two copies of the arrangement for two pianos; the orchestral reduction is played by the second piano. November 2012: now includes a previously-unpublished cadenza and revisions by the composer.

Lennox Berkeley's I Carry Your Heart With Me for medium Voice and Piano.'Sometime in 1970 I gave Lennox Berkeley a volume of poems by the American poet E. E. Cummings (1894-1962) since mysister Meriel Dickinson and I were commissioning him towrite a song-cycle for a whole programme of settings of Cummings. At the time he became involved with Chinese poetry and we were delighted with the Chinese Songs Op. 78.However a year or so later in July 1972 Berkeley did set a poem by Cummings. This was ‘i carry your heart with me’ from 95 Poems (1958) and he dedicated the song to the countertenorTay Cheng Jim.The manuscript leavesfew questions. Obviously the pedal sustains the sextuplet and triplet groups at the start and finish. It is possible that all the As in bar 32 of the left hand piano part should be flat although there are clashes like thiselsewhere. A few phrase-marks have been added on existing patterns.' - Peter Dickinson

Work SATB Chorus and Orchestra commissioned by the City Arts Trust for the opening concert of the 1968 Festival of the City of London.

L'édition fait partie du programme ABRSM (7e année) / Flûte A Bec Alto (Flûte Traversière) Et Piano