(1986)
Barcarolle was written for John White, one of my composition teachers at the Royal College of Music, on the occasion of his 50th birthday. It is a solo piano transcription of an interlude from my music theatre piece William Derrincourt (1977-79), originally scored for soprano saxophone, male chorus, two pianos and two percussion. John White introduced me to the works of many late-Romantic composers including Fauré, Alkan and Busoni---all of whom wrote Barcarolles---and so it seemed appropriate to allude to their often ambivalent, and slightly sinister, melos and characteristic keyboard textures.
© Roger Smalley. These notes may be freely used in programmes.
(1988-89)
The 'theme' of these variations is the whole of Chopin's Mazurka in B flat minor Opus 24 No. 4, although only the first six bars are actually quoted at the beginning of the work---just enough to remind the listener of the original piece. These bars form a series of progressively diminishing intervals from an octave down to a minor second. In each of the twelve short variations elements of the theme are transformed through the prism of one of these intervals---for example the first variation is exclusively in octaves; the second uses major and minor seconds in the right hand, rhythmically displaced against the original left-hand part; and the third concentrates on major and minor sixths.
My variations attempt to mirror the structure of the original Mazurka, which changes markedly in character towards the end, introducing new material and slowly winding down in a long coda. The first eight variations are extremely dynamic, but the ninth variation puts a brake on the music and the work ends with three much slower variations. The twelfth and final variation (an improvisatory melody over a shifting drone bass) is the most extended, drawing ever closer to the original, until the last two bars turn out to be the same as Chopin's. Variations on a theme of Chopin was commissioned by the Arnolfini Arts Centre in Bristol (UK) and was first performed there by Ian Munro in March 1989.
© Roger Smalley. These notes may be freely used in programmes.
For a much more detailed discussion of Variations on a Theme of Chopin see Poles Apart: The Music of Roger Smalley, edited by Judy Thönell, published by Evos Music and CIRCME, School of Music, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands WA 6907, Australia.
These works are available on Tall Poppies CDs: TP020 (Daniel Herscovitch) has both pieces, and TP058 (Ian Munro) has Variations on a Theme of Chopin. They are available through the Australian Music Centre.