- Simon Bainbridge
Concerti Grossi (2010)
- Novello & Co Ltd (World)
Commissioned by the Northern Sinfonia and first performed at The Sage Gateshead by the Northern Sinfonia conducted by Thomas Zehetmair on 4 June 2010.
- 2(pic)2(ca)2(bcl)2(cbn)/2200/2perc/hp.pf/str
- 23 min
Programme Note
Having the opportunity to write for such a wonderful virtuoso orchestra as the Northern Sinfonia, led me at a very early stage to the idea of composing a sequence of miniature Concerti Grossi, each one with its own instrumentation, tempo, musical character and grammar. The piece became a rich exploration of the musical potential of writing for a solo ‘concertino’ group and a tutti ripieno ensemble that both change with each movement. Although the composition is divided into eight different parts, they have all been woven together into one seamless continuity, where the connecting tempi of each creates a fluid ‘ebb and flow’ of varying temporal movement and where the musical surface gradually transforms over the twenty minute duration of the piece to reveal myriad perspectives of shifting background and foreground instrumental polyphony. Concerti Grossi is scored for double woodwind (with doublings) two horns, two trumpets, harp, piano. two percussion (including a two octave set of chromatic boobams in the seventh movement!) and strings.
Concerti Grossi is dedicated to the loving memory of my mother Nan Bainbridge (1919-2010).
Simon Bainbridge, May 2010
Concerti Grossi is dedicated to the loving memory of my mother Nan Bainbridge (1919-2010).
Simon Bainbridge, May 2010
Scores
Reviews
Nobody writes concerti grossi any more, which is a pity, as there is much vitality to the baroque form perfected by Handel, Corelli and Bach, whose Brandenburg Suites are concerti grossi in all but name. Simon Bainbridge calls the Northern Sinfonia "an orchestra of virtuosos", and his new piece, Concerti Grossi, was a 20-minute exercise designed to test the dexterity of the players to the limit. It didn't sound particularly baroque: Bainbridge's tonal palette seemed in equal parts Miles Davis and Debussy, while a palindromic structure brought the material full circle in the manner of Berg's Lulu. Yet it operated on the concerto grosso principle whereby the pulse is relayed from one group of soloists to another like electrical charges round a nervous system. It featured exemplary control of depth-of-field, with clusters of instruments snapping briefly into focus.
7th June 2010