Sir William Turner Walton

Prelude And Fugue from The Spitfire

The Prelude and Fugue from The Spitfire (1942) by William Walton had its origin in music for the film The first of the few, a tribute to R.J.Mitchell, designer of the Spitfire, by Leslie Howard .The success of the film and of the music itself induced Walton to offer the Prelude and Fugue as a concert piece, in which form it was first performed in 1943 by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under the composer's direction.The Prelude was used to accompany the film titles and is in characteristically Elgarian, patriotic vein. The Fugue, which at first accompanies busy work in an aircraft factory, has a subject that soars like the Spitfire that it embodies. (Concert Band)