Malcolm Arnold's chamber works on this album display a wide range of styles, moods, and forms, surprising those who know him primarily for lighthearted entertainment music.
Composition History
The Duo for two cellos was written by Malcolm Arnold in 1964 at the request of Hugo Cole for a teaching book, designed to be tuneful and accessible for players with limited technique.
Compositional Technique
The last of the Five Pieces pays tribute to jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker, featuring a slippery, eel-like tune that contradicts the pounding bass beat with cross-rhythms and syncopations.
Performer Biography
The Nash Ensemble, founded in 1964 by Amelia Freedman, is one of Britain's finest chamber groups, known for its vast repertoire and innovative programming.
Compositional Technique
The 'Aubade' from the Five Pieces is a light-footed scherzo freely based on an Indian raga, characterized by flattened second and raised fourth degrees.
Composition History
The Five Pieces for violin and piano were composed in 1964 for Yehudi Menuhin, a renowned violinist, to perform as encores during an American tour.
Compositional Technique
Some movements in these works feature unusual structures, such as a passacaglia that moves up a semitone at each entry to cover all twelve degrees of the scale, and movements based on canon and inverted canon.
