Bernard Barrell

Symphony for Strings

Orchestration:
Strings (Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, Bass)
This work reflects the atmosphere of the lonely, mysterious marshes, wide open skies, wind-swept heathlands, sea mists and the sense of space and light of the East Anglian coast. The overall plan is very simple: emerging from a gentle backwater, a slow introduction containing the basic material leads to three linked movements of which the first is a compressed sonata movement with two main ideas - one bossy and bracing; the other marshy and brooding - sighing, not with despair, but with satisfaction! Terse development and recapitulation lead to a peaceful Coda in which the solo violin is eventually left on its own, the upper strings hovering distantly until cellos and basses initiate the second movement which has fugal symptoms, and whose resolute climax is the apex of the whole work. A ghostly link foreshadows the third movement, a rondo. Inevitably, the slow introduction returns to bring this 'Symphony of the Marshes' to a tranquil close - as if we had never moved - and we are left gazing into the distance as far as the eye can see . . . . the sky is now perfectly clear.
Duration: 22 minutes
A PACK comprises one full score, string parts 4/4/3/4/2 and any wind, brass and percussion parts.