Lauds
By
a happy coincidence I share a birthday with Igor Stravinsky, so it was natural
that I should want to pay some sort of tribute to Stravinsky when he died in
1971. The opportunity came with a
commission from that year’s Three Choirs Festival to write a piece for a
concert to be given in the grounds of Tewkesbury Abbey by the Purcell Consort
of Voices and the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble.
While in no way wanting to imitate Stravinsky's style, I nevertheless enjoyed
adopting some of his harmonic and textural mannerisms, in a piece which is
ceremonial for the most part, but with a more contemplative central section.
The
text for "Lauds" is a paraphrase of Psalm 150 by the 17th century
poetess Mary, Countess of Pembroke, whose versifications of many of the psalms
were immensely popular during her lifetime.
The piece opens with a short introduction for the brass quintet which
provides much of the later thematic material.
The first allegro section makes use of an accompaniment figure
which is unashamedly indebted to Stravinsky, and this is followed by an
extended central passage in which individual voices are pitted against the
different brass instruments. The final allegro
sections become increasingly extrovert and celebratory, though a reference to
the "Alleluias" in Stravinsky's "Symphony of Psalms"
adds a degree of solemnity to the proceedings.
© Christopher Brown 2011