Thea Musgrave: Clarinet Concerto (Full Score): Clarinet: Score

The Clarinet Concerto was written in 1968 in response to a commission from the Royal Philharmonic Society. It was first performed in February 1969 by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Colin Davis with Gervase de Pyer assoloist at the Royal Festival Hall London.

For Clarinet solo with wind quartet and string quartet. Score OnlyFirst performed by Michael Collins Clarinet London Winds and the Endellion String Quartet on 27th January 2011 at the Wigmore Hall London.Scoring:Solo ClarinetFluteOboeBassoonFrench Horn2 ViolinsViolaCelloDuration:circa 13 minutes'During a visit to the exhibition of Francis Bacon at the Tate Gallery in December 2008my eye fell on Figure in a Landscape 1945 which resonated in me powerfully. It is a sceneof devastation and despair and also it seemed to me of latent anger and hostility... butabove it all a serene blue sky beckons. So perhaps even in the darkest moments there is aglimmer of hope - the possibility of change.This idea became the starting point for this work - Towards the Blue - a mini concerto forclarinet who eventually becomes the leader of the group.The work starts without the clarinet and all is desolate yet fiercely argumentative discordant and uncomfortable. Suddenly the offstage clarinet is heard and the players insurprise are quietened. However when the clarinet enters and approaches with a lyricalmusical motif some of the players respond others resist. Gradually the clarinetpersuades the dissident voices to join him in a spirit of co-operation and harmony.A brief memory of the opening desolation casts a momentary shadow which is quicklydispelled by the coda marked Gioioso.'Thea Musgrave (May 13th 2010)Parts available for hire separately

A concerto for Percussion and Orchestra. Full Score.Commissioned by the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland.First performance:Tuesday 4 January 2005 Usher Hall Edinburgh by Colin Currie (solo percussion)and The National Youth Orchestra of Scotland conducted by Garry Walker Instrumentation Solo percussion:Marimba metal wind chimes [mark tree] Chinese Bell tree Vibraphone Tubular bells 4 conga drums 4 tom toms 4 bongos2 Flutes2 Oboes2 Clarinets in Bb2 Bassoons4 Hornsin F3 Trumpets in CTrombonesTubaPercussion (4 Players):PERC A 1o: Tubular bells cymbal [medium] wood blocks crotalesPERC A 2o: Metal wind chimes [mark tree] Side drum temple blocks Tam-tamPERC B 1o: xylophone glockenspiel side drum cymbal [high] tomtomsPERC B 2o: Chinese bell tree Bass drum maracas triangle sleigh bellsStringsDuration: circa 17 min.