Judith Weir

I Give You The End Of A Golden String was commissioned in 2013 by the Royal Philharmonic Society/Britten-Pears Foundation to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Benjamin Brittenand the bicentenary of thefoundation of the Royal Philharmonic Society.The piece was first performed on 8th June 2013 by the Britten Sinfonia conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth.'My aim when I began this piece was to create a long length ofstring music out of a single strand of melody.While experimenting at the beginning shaping and extending a melody in many possible directions I cameacross William Blake???s lines???I give you the end of a goldenstring;Only wind it into a ball It will lead you in at Heaven???s gate Built in Jerusalem???s wall???and this became my working method winding a single tune around itself so that it gradually formed itselfinto amuch richer more complex texture. The process happens three times producing the equivalent of acontinuous three-movement concerto.The ???first movement??? is engendered by two solo violas (the melody at the beginning alreadyentwined witha slightly alternative version of itself). The ???slow movement??? (a more extended more decorated developmentof the opening tune) is introduced by a solo cello (soon winding itself into a quartet of celli). The fast???finale??? led by two solo violins focuses on decorations within the melody rolling out ribbons of (Britten-like') thirds.' - Judith WeirSuggested minimum strings: 8.6.4.4.2 players

Work for Orchestra commissioned by the St Magnus Festival with assistance from the Scottish Arts Council.

POD-Judith Weir's National Anthem With Leicester Fanfare is a work commissioned by Leicester Cathedral and first performed there at the Service of Reinterment of the Remains of King Richard III on 26th March2015. Scored for 4 Horns in F Unison Chorus and Organ Accompaniment a full performance lasts around 2 minutes. These are the Brass Parts. Note: this work was originally scored for Organ and four Horns inF. However the set of parts on sale includes alternatives for each of the Horn parts as follows: Horn 1 in F or E Flat Tenor Horn or Trombone Tenor Clef or Trombone/Euphonium/Baritone Treble ClefHorn 2 in F or Trombone Bass Clef or Trombone/Euphonium/Baritone Treble Clef Horn 3 in F or E Flat Tenor Horn or Trombone Tenor Clef or Trombone/Euphonium/Baritone Treble Clef Horn4 in F or Trombone Bass Clef or Trombone/Euphonium/Baritone Treble Clef

From an 18 000 verse Hindu text the Bhagavata Purana composed about AD900 this extract is about the coming of the yearly monsoon rain. Commissioned by the Minnesota Orchsetra on the occasion of the Orchestra'sCemtennial.

I Broke Off A Golden Branch was commissioned and first performed by the Schubert Ensemble in 1992. The words ‘I broke off a golden branch’ come from a Croatian folksong which is very obliquely referred to inthe second of the work’s two movements. Judith Weir dedicated this lovely piece of chamber music for Violin Viola Cello Double Bass and Piano to William Howard. Full score. Violin Viola Cello and Double Bass partsare included separately as well. Duration ca. 15 minutes.Judith Weir is a British composer and Master of the Queen's Music. In 1994 Weir received the Critics’ Circle Music Section Award for the mostoutstanding contribution to British musical life.

The music for this piece was inspired by a short extract from a traditional melody sung by women cloth-workers in Barra in the Western Isles of Scotland. The Scottish folk music tradition is one that Weir has frequently drawn onin the past both in shorter works such as the songs of Scotch Minstrelsy and in her second opera The Vanishing Bridegroom and it is one she has completely assimilated into her technique. The modal feel of this piece however is as much a result of Weir's intuitive and idiomatic harmonic sense as of the original inspiration. Overture for Orchestra commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in honour of the 50th anniversary of the Tanglewood MusicCentre in 1991; it received its first performance there on 3 August that year.

Work for Chamber Ensemble commissioned for the Fires of London by the St Magnus Festival Society with funds from the Scottish Arts Council.