A work suitable for recitals, scored for Violin and Piano. A slow and intense Prelude leads to a Scherzo-like dance section and a whirlwind Toccata to finish. For all virtuosos!

Prelude and Capriccio for Violin and Piano

Song Of Songs Rhapsody For Strings And Harp

My 2nd String Quartet was composed during the current Coronavirus pandemic and its style is definitely affected by this period. I would describe the music as a strong statement of mind.

In complete contrast to my relatively straightforward 1st Quartet, which is in 4 movements, the present work is in one uninterrupted movement, divided into five parts, with an epilogue.

The intervals of the major 7th and minor 2nd are a strong feature of the music, which contrasts intensely static passages, which are nevertheless uneasily tranquil, with furious and violent sections, often marked triple forte in certain passages.

The opening “Lento” flows serenely but mysteriously as if awaiting some kind of resolution, using motifs rather than fully-fledged themes(of which there are very few). The viola makes an urgent and violent protest, later to be imitated by cello, as if to disrupt the serenity, until the second section bursts in with barely-controlled energy and fury.

This “Allegro feroce” is strongly accented and relentless in its forward momentum, the tension maintained almost throughout until the music suddenly quietens down, pizzicato passages leading to the next section.

The “Adagio Sostenuto” initially resembles plainsong, all four instruments in unison(muted) playing a smooth line which rises and falls, the dynamics remaining “pp” and “senza vibrato”. The line breaks into harmony based on the interval of a perfect 5th, eventually leading to a passage reminiscent of the very opening of the work. A brief crescendo leads to another quiet unison passage which becomes more fragmented and unsettled, first and second violins announcing an aggressive idea which becomes the initial impetus for the fourth section.

This “Presto Furioso” is even more violently energetic than the second section and at one point, alternates between 3/8 and 4/8, making the music sound even more unsettled. This is music with a strong sense of purpose as well as absolute fury. After a very short scalic passage, the final section begins “Grave” and “pp” with a sustained unison “C”, growing in power with exaggerated vibrato to a series of crunching discords and a wildly disconcerting episode featuring swirling upper strings and impassioned cello solo. The music dies away to the Epilogue.

The concluding part of the work calls for a recorded cello playing a pizzicato pedal, over which violins and viola play a series of overlapping (tonal) triads, giving the music a slightly warmer but still mysterious sound. The recorded cello’s pedal notes slow down until a final powerful discord from the 4 instruments dies away, leaving the “sighing” motif of the very opening of the work to have the last word.

String Quartet No.2(master recording)

Possibly the very first Concerto for 2 Tubas and Orchestra, my work draws its inspiration from the Nordic landscape, traditions and its association with its most celebrated composer, Edvard Grieg.

It can be listened to as a partly descriptive work if one’s imagination works overtime! The subtitles of each of the four movements give a clue to the mood and atmosphere of the music.

The Concerto is structured around what I call the “Grieg Motif”, a 3-note figure familiar to those who know the Piano Concerto and the third of the Symphonic Dances. This idea provides the foundation of the work’s numerous themes.

The bass and contrabass tubas often play separately, sometimes antiphonally, underpinning the orchestral bass and only rarely simultaneously, in order to highlight each instrument’s particular timbre, especially the very low tones of the contrabass tuba.

Double Concerto for Bass Tuba, Conbtrabass Tuba and Orchestra("From the Mountains and Fjords")

The 3rd section of my Ballet Suite:The Legend of Pandora

Pandora 03 Festival Of The Gods

The 5th movement of my Ballet Suite:The Legend of Pandora scored for string orchestra only

Pandora 05 Pandoras Lament

The final movement of my Ballet Suite:The Legend of Pandora, a wild Greek dance to Bacchus.

Pandora 06 Dithyramb

A Concerto in one continuous movement for bass clarinet and chamber orchestra, subtitled "In Memoriam". The first section contrasts tense moments with pastoral calm, the middle section is a fast, jig-like movement with echoes of hunting horns, while the final slow section begins with a lyrical theme on violins. The music ends in pastoral tranquillity.

Bass Clarinet Concerto

An impressionistic work that attempts to create a feeling of being in the English countryside on a fine, windless day.

Aubade Pastorale

Settings of Latin and Hebrew texts for 3-part female choir(SSA) and percussion.

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