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Nigel Keay - Variations on a Theme from At the Hawk's Well (2001)

Œuvre en un mouvement pour piano trio (violon, violonelle, et piano). Durée ; 9 minutes environ.

Piano Trio Full Score (PDF - 13 pages, 376Kb)   Piano Trio Violin Part (PDF)   Piano Trio Cello Part (PDF)

Variations on a Theme from At the Hawk's Well (2001) was first performed on 22nd March 2007 at the Music Department of the University of Otago (NZ) by Charmian Keay (violin), Jono Squire (cello) and Tom McGrath (piano).

 
 
 

Notice de l'œuvre

Cette courte œuvre reprend le matériau de l'opéra At the Hawk's Well, en particulier le thème tonal associé au Jeune Homme que l'on retrouve plus tard dans la musique qui accompagne la danse. De forme circulaire, elle se développe à partir d'une mélodie lyrique que le violon et le violoncelle reprennent sous forme de dialogue.

On the idea of variation, is not so much employed in the classical sense as the principal melody stays constant, the variation occurs in the accompanying texture throughout the piece. In the outer sections the melody is presented in a somewhat exuberant manner by the violin in contrast to the cello where it is more subdued.

Brief analysis of the form

bars 1-7: preamble.
bars 8-58: main thematic section with main melody principally carried by the violin.
bars 8-24: subsection statement of main theme constructed as two 8 bar melodies
bar 31: restatement of main theme in tonality of G, a tritone from the initial C# statement of the theme.
bar 41: restatement of the main theme in initial tonality of C#.
bars 58/3-92: transitional section constructed on new episodic material.
bars 93 - 109: main theme stated in the lower register by the cello in the initial C# tonality.
bars 110 - 113 linking passage.
bars 114 - 163 recapitulation of bars 8 - 58
bars 163 to end: coda section.

 

Listen to a recording of the work from 2010 by Anastasiya Filippochkina - violin, Gabriel Casalis - cello & Debra Takakjian - piano: http://nigelkeay.com/audio/pntrio/nkpntrio-2010.mp3

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