Weiland: Octet Op. 55 (2015)

Description

Weiland: Octet Winterreise Op. 55 (2015)
Douglas Gordon Weiland
FE4036                                            4 violins/2 violas/2 cellos
I Prologue: Didlington Bridge        II On the Banks of the Wissey      III Northwold

IV Recitative: Harrod’s Mill Pond   V The Punch Bowl                       VI Epilogue

This haunting little work, containing some of Douglas’s most deeply inspired utterances, comprises six short movements, each one headed by a Norfolk location, of approx. thirteen minutes’ duration. It was commissioned in July 2015 by William Hennessy for his Australian Octet (housed under the umbrella of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra).

In the Octet we see a three-way interpolation: the autobiographical, the Norfolk world of John Cowper-Powys and a benevolent glance over narrowed spectacles from Franz Schubert. The third may or may not be perceived musically – in any event Schubert’s presence, in the mind of the composer, hovered over the work. The first two are referenced on the front page of the Octet manuscript thus:

Composed mostly during July and August 2015 with some preparatory sketches made the previous January, a depiction of wanderings amongst the Norfolk countryside since 2013; an autobiographical winter journey.

DGW August 2015

“Harrod’s Mill was approached, by its own drive, through a couple of open fields. They entered this drive through a gate leading out of the road to Didlington, just before the bridge over the River Wissey. The wind was sharp indeed…”

John Cowper Powys A Glastonbury Romance 1932

Score £12

Set of parts £30