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Epiphany Variations
Conductor's score and parts on hire
978-0-19-362459-7
19 February 1976
Price: Available on request
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for full orchestra Forces or CategoryFull orchestraDuration23 minutesDifficultyModerately difficult to DifficultOrchestrationpicc, 2 fl, 2 ob, ca, 3 cl, 3 bn, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 3 tbn, tba, timp, 4 perc (tri, glock, xylo, anvil, claves, wind chimes, metal wind chimes, crotales, w blk, 2 log dr, 3 gong, tam, ratchet, 4 temp blks), hp, pn (+cel),
strProgramme NotesThis is a double set of variations on two tunes but the form is totally unlike the many examples of alternating variation found in Haydn. It combines certain aspects of nineteenth century free variation (e.g. Elgars Enigma Variations) with the idea of a tune gradually evolving during the course of the piece (e.g. in many Sibelius symphonies or, most pertinently, in DIndys Istar.) My two tunes were originally written as hymns for the choir of Kings College Cambridge and are thus very simple and, I hope, easily recognised. The first is heard at the beginning of the piece and gradually disappears in the following variations. The second is heard at the very end of the piece and
is gradually hinted at and built up during the preceding variations. Since the two processes of gradual disappearance and gradual evolution both happen simultaneously throughout the variations, the form is thus quite complicated and is perhaps best heard, at first listening, as a set of interrelated orchestral studies. Generally, the material of the first tune is developed on the strings and horns (with metal percussion) and that of the second tune on woodwind, trumpets and trombones (with wood and skin percussion). A third division of the orchestra is a trio of clarinet, cor anglais and bassoon which is seated separately from the rest of the orchestra (ideally, it would be out of sight) and which plays the two tunes as well as providing background atmosphere in several
variations
The whole work lasts a little over twenty minutes and divides up as follows:
Theme 1 and Prologue.
The first tune (Ex.1) is emedded within an introduction contrasting low and high registers.
Variations I VI.
Each variation is a separate piece with its own character. Together they form a continuous symphonic development from energy and complexity towards calm simplicity.
I. Theme one is immediately abandoned for a block or matrix of eight-part counterpoint consisting of many derivations from theme two (in the manner of Ex.2). the first theme is heard in trilled notes from the strings.
II. Contrasting textures for strings and horns derived entirely from theme one. It features a solo viola.
III. A
more violent juxtaposition of the woodwind matrix with scales and passagework for strings.
IV. This continues the alternation of woodwind and strings. The individual lines of the woodwind become increasingly cantabile.
V. A Pastorale for strings and horns. The first theme is heard in a cello solo.
VI. A shorter variation, in which the woodwind play, for the first time, phrases that are clearly from theme tow.
Variations VII XII.
The second half of the piece has three sections each of which is a pair of variations playing simultaneously.
VII/VIII. Harmonic developments from both themes lead to a big climax.
IX/X. Beginning with a lullaby for horn this section develops into an opposition of singing polyphony for the strings,
and colouristic textures for the wind.
XI/XII. The most virtuoso and brilliant music of the piece. It is dominated by string arpeggios and a lively, rhythmic version of theme two for woodwind.
This section ends with a recapitulation of various elements from earlier variations and leads directly to:-
Theme 2 and Epilogue.
Beginning with a clear statement of theme two (Ex. 3) this coda reworks the music of the Prologue with many of the motives and registrations inverted.
The title Epiphany was chosen after most of the music was complete. The piece was commissioned (by the British Bicentennial Liaison Committee) for performance during the USA Bicentennial celebrations of 1976 and I thought of the gradual emergence of one theme from out of the
shadow of another as a kind of symbol of this birth. I also wanted to acknowledge both my Englishness and the place of composition (Kings College Cambridge, whose chapel conatins Rubens Adoration of the Magi). As if to clinch all the other, more private, significations of the word, I found myself finishing the full score on 6 January 1976 the feast of the Epiphany.
I have dedicated the score to the members, in 1975, of the choir of Kings College.
© Gordon Crosse, 1979
Reproduced with permission of Oxford University Press.
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Gordon Crosse (b.1937) Gordon Crosse was born in 1937 in Bury, Lancashire. He studied at Oxford University and since 1964 has held various appointments at the Universities of Birmingham and Essex, and was for two years Composer-in-Residence at King's College, Cambridge.
Much of Crosse's work reflects his interest in the dramatic and literary arts, including his four operas and several ballets. Since the late 1980s, Crosse has moved away from composition, developing instead an interest in the uses of music technology.
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"A work of discreetly ingenious construction and fascinatingly variegated imagination." - Robert Henderson, Daily Telegraph
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The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
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