Arranged by Robin White in 1992
Duration: 8 minutes
Scoring: 2 Fls, 2 Obs, 2 Cls, 2 Bns, 2 Hrns in F, 2 Trs in B flat, 3 Trbs, Tuba, Timp, Bass Drum, Cym, Triangle, Tambarine, Glock, Harp and Strings.
First performance: 10th July 1993, by the Cedars Orchestra, conducted by the composer at Cradley Heath, Worcestershire.
These Orchestral pieces are an arrangement of the composer's Three Short Piano Pieces Op 5. They are brimming with melodic invention, harmonic twists and turns, and a whole variety of different and effective techniques evocatively recreated for orchestra by Robin White.
1. Caprice
The Caprice is a lively vignette which has as its driving force, a melodic idea, alternating the time signatures of 3 /4, 6/8, 2/4 and 5/8. As its title suggests it is at times whimsical, but ends in a more emphatic manner.
2. Dance of the Teddy Bears
The final chord of the Caprice leads nicely into the tonally 'solid' D Major of the Dance of the Teddy Bears. Rocking 6/8 rhythms give a joyous lift to the music and lead us to two closely positioned and obvious surprises.The first is a passing reference to the song The Teddy Bear's Picnic, the second is the movements penultimate chord. In conjunction these two moments create an amusing coda to a delightful miniature.
3. Folk Tune
'Folk Tune' is slightly more serious in mood and the longest of the three movements. After a short introduction the composer's original 16 bar Folk Tune is heard. This idea is subsequently harmonised and, after a more affirmative section returns at the movements main climax point in a rhapsodic guise, reaching fff at its close. After a short restatement of the introductory material, Folk Tune ends on a Tierce de Picardie, and brings to a close this satisfying musical triptych.