Bach-P.M. Davies
Arrangements/Transcriptions of Bach's Works by Peter Maxwell Davies

Contents

Arrangements/Transcriptions: Works
Arrangements/Transcriptions: Links
Recordings of Arrangements/Transcriptions

Peter Maxwell Davies - Short Biography

Works

Work

No.

Year

Chamber

J.S. Bach: Two Preludes and Fugues, Realisation for instrumental ensemble
1. WTC 1: Prelude & Fugue No. 4 in C sharp minor, BWV 849
2. WTC 2: Prelude & Fugue No. 3 in C sharp major, BWV 848
Instrumentation: Flute (+ alto flute in C# minor Fugue), clarinet in A or bassett clarinet, marimba, harpsichord, viola, cello
Premiere:
1^st performance of C# minor: October 13, 1972, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
The Fires of London, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies conductor
1^st performance of C# major: November 27, 1974, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
The Fires of London, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies conductor
Compostions completed: C# major 1972, C# minor 1974
[London, Bonn, New York, Toronto: Boosey & Hawkes 1978]

Woo 107

1974

Orchestra

A Reel of Seven Fishermen, for orchestra: 1^st Mvt. - Prologue: The Call of the Sea (incorporating the BACH motif)
Duration: 30 min
Instrumentation: Piccolo, 2 flutes, **alto flute, 2 oboes, cor Anglais, 2 clarinets in A, bass clarinet in Bb, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, tuba, *percussion (3 players), harp, timpani, strings
*percussion (3 players): glockenspiel, crotales, marimba
**Alto flute can be played by flute 2, in which case two short alto flute passage are taken by clarinet 2
Premiere: May 7, 1998, Louise M. Davies Hall, San Francisco, USA
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies conductor
Commissioner: San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
[London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1999]

Op. 190

1998

The first musical paragraph (there are three altogether that form the movement’s exposition of ideas) ends on a pause in the bar before Letter C in the full score3. A few bars earlier a short, but very expressive tuba solo seems to endorse what was already suggested in the horns opening material - that a referencing of the BACH motif (a four-note motif that crosses over on itself ) will be a related motivic feature of this work. The comparison between the two solo tuba phrases and the BACH motif itself. The BACH motif consists of two falling minor 2^nd intervals contained within the framework interval of a minor 3^rd. The first tuba phrase comes close to imitating the exact contours of the BACH motif, but its intervals are slightly expanded; the second phrase contains greater intervallic expansion. However, after discussing many of the work’s principal features with Max at his home on Sanday in August 2007, I have to conclude that any direct link between the BACH motif and the ‘Crux fidelis’ plainsong on which he based so much of the work’s melodic material, appears to be coincidental. However, the close intervallic shaping of both ‘melodies’ as well as the shared symbol of a cross makes for an nteresting (possibly subconscious) parallel.
Source: A Companion to Recent Scottish Music: 1950 to the Present [PDF]

String Ensemble

Musikgeschichte in Einem satz, Kurz, for string quartet
Durations: 5 min
Instrumentation: Violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello
Premiere: November 5, 2004, Stoke-by-Nayland Country Club, near Colchester, Essex
Maggini Quartet
Commissioner The Strover family on the occasion of Rosalind Strover's 100^th birthday
Dedication: Rosalind Strover on her 100^th birthday
[London: Chester Music, 2005, 2011]

Op. 255

2004

In one movement. This piece is a short and humorous trip through the history of Western music. It includes references to music by Taverner, Purcell, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Arnold Schoenberg and Béla Bartók.

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Work list

List of works, includind details of each

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Prepared by Aryeh Oron (August 2011)

Peter Maxwell Davies: Short Biography | Arrangements/Transcriptions: Works | Recordings