Daniel Jones, the composer, was a close and lasting friend of poet Dylan Thomas, with whom he collaborated on over two hundred poems.
Composition History
Daniel Jones's Second Symphony was one of five works by Welsh composers commissioned by the Arts Council's Welsh committee for the 1951 Festival of Britain.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Daniel Jones described the symphony as 'a dramatic structure with an emotive intention', tackling the form afresh with each of his 13 symphonies.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Daniel Jones, a natural symphonist, believed that every note counted and cited Mozart, Weber, Mendelssohn, and Bizet as models of clarity in their uncluttered orchestration.
Historical Context
During World War II, Daniel Jones served as a Captain in British Army Intelligence at Bletchley Park, working as a cryptographer and decoder of Japanese, Romanian, and Russian.
Compositional Technique
Daniel Jones developed a technique called 'complex metres' in the 1930s, using irregular time patterns like 5/4 alternating with 3/2, which he believed created irregularity and symmetry.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Daniel Jones regarded composing as a process of discovery, stating that the piece he was writing 'already exists and that what I have to do is to unveil it'.
