Works

1st Performed 1972, Purcell Room with the English Chorale. In ‘A Cradle Song’ William Blake seems to me to exhibit a tenderness which, combined with his marvellous imaginative power, is truly evocative. The words have a lyrical simplicity that encourages their musical setting and in this little work, written for the English Chorale, I have endeavoured to express my own personal feelings for the poetry through the personal experience of parenthood.

1st performed 30th March 1968, Twickenham. Written for Doreen Hogarth and Twickenham County School Choir Words by W.H. Auden.

A short melodically pleasing piece suitable for student players.

!st performed 8th May 1973, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, conductor George Hurst. Dedicated to and written in admiration of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta, the Chamber Concerto was completed in 1971.  Its source of inspiration is the baroque concerto gross, with which it identifies in the ordering of its movements, and, is distinguished from by the way in which traditionally defined roles of concertino and ripen are interchanged between various instrumental groups throughout the work.

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The central Adagio movement was written within days of the news of the death of Igor Stravinsky. Astute ears will no doubt identify within it a short motif quoted from the Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments, and the music expresses, however haltingly, something of Peter’s feelings at that time.

1st performed 26th Nov 1974 by the Silvestri Quartet, Bournemouth.  The composer was awarded a Fellowship by Trinity College of Music, London following the completion of this work. The report said…  This is a good piece of serious chamber music. There is plenty of invention, and skill is shown in the devising and working of accompaniment figures and counterpoints.

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There is a good sense of the string quartet medium, and the writing for each instruments always suitable and effective. The work as a whole is well balanced its movements, and there is sufficient variety and contrast in the material and the textures. The style is consistent with a certain Bartokian flavour at times, but none the less it has individuality.

1st performed 8th May 1974, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, double bass Ray Koster, conductor George Hurst. ‘My Concertante Music originated as a Duo for Double Bass and Piano, written at the request of, and dedicated to, Raymond Koster, Principal Double Bass of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta. The problem of writing a piano part which supported the double bass with its unique timbre, but limited range, led me to think of orchestral colour from the outset.

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It was thus but a step from the completion of the Duo to realise its orchestral potential. The work was not conceived, nor should it be listened to, as an oddity because it features an instrument less familiar in a solo role. It is simply music.

Written for the Church of St. Francis in Bournemouth, the Mass is simple in style and modest in its demands on choir and organist.

1st performed 1973 Poole, Susan Milan and Clifford Benson. ThIs a lightweight work presenting no problems to contemporary ears, designed simply to give pleasure to both performers and audience. The two outer movements make considerable play with constantly changing tonality and rhythms, whilst the central Andante is a simple song-like structure with a gently wistful air. The work ends with a short flourish from the flute which echoes, with respect and affection, the opening of Poulencs famous Flute Sonata.

1st performance 20th March 1968. An orchestral version of the Flute Sonatina.

The piece offers considerable variety in tone production. It is very much a duo and both parts carry equal weight. It was written for Lady Barbirolli.

First performed by Bournemouth Symphony wind quintet, the work was then taken up by the Galliard Ensemble. The movements are well contrasted, beginning with an enjoyable rhythmic first movement, a melodic second of considerable appeal and concluding with a set of continuous variations on a Greek folk-tune.

1st Performed, 12th November 1981 Katie Wilkinson and Hampshire Youth Orchestra. Written for Katie Wilkinson, it is a major work in three movements, showing his sound craftsmanship and ability to write music of originality, while still treading traditional paths.

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‘This concerto contains fleeting references to a few ideas from others that have lingered lovingly in my memory. Non of them were pre planned but seemed to me, at least an inevitable part of the growth of the work’. Written for performance by good amateur orchestral performers, with a solo part that is demanding but not virtuosic.

1st performed 3rd April 2004, Sherborne School. This exciting duo for basses and piano explores the possibilities that Alkan’s memorable theme provides for this unusual combination of instruments.

First performed 23rd March 1989. Part of John Dowland’s (1563-1626) famous song is given new life in this instrumental version which has found favour in many concert performances.

1st performed January 1987, Bournemouth. The work begins with a five note figure taken from the end of the central movement of Debussy’s orchestral masterpiece, ‘La Mer’. It is this figure which is ‘reflected’ in various patterns of sound to form the basis of the piece. It demands much from the performer , both technically and musically.

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It was written for Susan Milan, principal flautist of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

1st performed 20th April 1988 Charles Wilson, flute, Colin Howard piano. Performed at Oxford University in 1990, this three movement work is recorded on the ASV label by Ken Smith( principal flute of the Philharmonia) and pianist Paul Rhodes. ‘There is plenty here to keep both performers busy, and the result is well worth the time needed to do the work justice. Full of vitality and rhythmic interest, with a complex tonality which manages to avoid obscurity, this is a large scale piece ideal for recital use. There is a cracking finale which, if all has gone according to plan, should guarantee the desired audience response.’ (Trevor Ford, Music Teacher 1990)

First performed 28th September 1989 Ken Smith and Paul Rhodes. The piece belongs firmly in the English tradition, although the tiny bridge passage has intimations of a Gallic waltz. Its sinuous and lyrical melodies are supported by a gently flowing and undulating accompaniment and the middle chromatic style, within an accessible idiom, produces a work to suit any audience or occasion.

1st performed, 23rd march 1988. An orchestral version of the Sonata for flute and Piano, it provides considerable scope for good amateur music makers.

1st performed 3rd April 2004, Sherborne School.

A truly romantic work which gives players the chance to express themselves in melodic and harmonic lines that are deeply emotional.

1st performed 3rd April 2004 Sherborne School. Available in settings SATB and SSAA, this beautiful anonymous sixteenth-century poem was composed as a memoriam to those who perished in the catastrophe that occurred in New York in September 2001.

An SATB setting of a poem by John Fletcher (1579-1625) that is wonderfully evocative of its subject.

Written for Jackie Shave and Gavin Wright.

Written for Jackie Shave and Gavin Wright.

This unaccompanied setting of the Latin text is well within the reach of good church choirs.

The Ten Joys of Mary

The Seeds of Love

Searching for Lambs

The Trees They do Grow High

Geordie

SSA setting of the poem Love by George Herbert (1593-1632).

My choral setting of the prayer Ave Maria proved to be the stimulus that aided the development of these two piano pieces, both written in 2010. The necessity to realise the nuances of the prayer, in the absence of words proved a very real challenge. However, I hope the outcome will give pleasure to those who seek to look beyond the written notes.

A Mahler memoire

Romance

Idylle

Solace

Intermezzo

Devotion

Consolation

Evocation

Wistful

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These little pieces comprise a set which, it is hoped, will give pleasure to the aspiring pianist and prove of interest to those more accomplished. Each piece is entitled in order to inform the performer some hint of its character.

A Somerset folksong arranged by Peter Lamb. A Christmas carol was collected in Somerset by Cecil Sharp (1859-1924).

These five short dances are aimed at the beginner bassist using a limited number of notes, rhythms and keys, with simple, but supportive piano accompaniments.