John McCabe

Postcards was written in 1991 for the Vega Wind Quintet who first performed it at the Huddersfield Festival in the same year. It is a reworking of a set of eight Bagatelles written in 1965: each movement has been rewritten and enlarged to a greater or lesser extent. The title was chosen to emphasise the nature of the pieces which are in a sense brief postcards from different genres (fugato dance etc). John McCabe (1939-2015) was a British composer pianist and music administrator. He studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music and built a career as a virtuoso pianist. However he also wrote several hundred musical compositions ranging from large-scale orchestral works to chamber music and solo instrumental pieces - it is said the only classical genre he did not write for was opera. 

John McCabe one of Britain’s best known contemporary composers was specially commissioned in 1976 to compose this work by the Northampton Philharmonic Choir to celebrate its 80th Season.

John McCabe's Nocturnal For Piano Quintet was composed in 1966 commissioned by the Park Lane Group London and first performed by the Lancaster University Ensemble. Duration: Approximately 13 minutes. Composers Note:  The title of this work is a reference to John Donne's poem A Nocturnal upon St Lucie's Day the mood of which is reflected in the quintet. It falls into several movements played without a break: Introduction (Andante) setting forth the main thematic ideas of the music; Nocturne 1 (Allegro vivo) an agitated virtuoso scherzo-like section; a tripartite central part of the work consisting of two Cadenzasframing a brief Interlude the first Cadenza being largely for strings the second mainly for piano and the Interlude harking back to the feeling of the Introduction; Nocturne 2 (Andante molto) a slow piece gradually building to a unison theme on strings accompanied by a tolling piano background. This dies down to lead to an Epilogue ending with a final reference to the work's opening bars. 

For Baritone and String Quartet.Commissioned by Jo Boosey in memory of her husband Simon.First performance: 17th March 2012 at St. Mary's Church Pembridge Herefordshire by Marcus Farnsworth (Baritone) and the Alberni String Quartet.

For Trumpet And Piano-This Sonata by John McCabe was commissioned by Simon Debruslais and derives its underlying material from William Byrd’s motet 'Haec Dies' from his 1591 collection of Cantiones Sacrae. An outline of the motet is “hidden” within the texture of the music but never stated directly. The Sonata employs that beautiful instrument the Flugelhorn (beloved of Vaughan Williams and Miles Davis) for the first two main sections switching to D Trumpet (familiar from Baroque music) for the final part which is faster than the earlier ones. The first section is moderately-paced and obsessively circles around particular intervals notably parallel ornear-parallel fifths (possibly my revenge on the academic world). The middle part of the work is slow framed by very brief scherzando trio-like sections. The piece lasts about 17 minutes.

John McCabe's Concerto For Piano And Wind Quintet. Commissioned by the Birmingham Chamber Music Society for first performance by the Venturi Ensemble (Sebastian Bell Philip Jones Roy Jowitt Alan Hammond James Diack and John McCabe) on 21 February 1970.