SKU: HL.48021088
Composed by James
Macmillan. Boosey &
Hawkes Scores/Books. 72
pages. Hal Leonard
#M060117817. Published by
Hal Leonard
(HL.48021088).
UPC:
884088649074.
7.25x10.25x0.169
inches.
Britannia
was written in 1994 as a
celebration of a major
force in our musical
life, the British
orchestra. The work
fulfils a commission from
British
Telecommunications plc
with the Association of
British Orchestras as
part of the BT
Celebration Series, and
provides all the major UK
orchestras with a new
concert overture for
performance in the
1994/95 season. Britannia
is a ten-minute
orchestral fantasy based
on patriotic themes.
There is no programme of
story as such but the
tapestry ofpopular
melodies and resonant
allusions, given their
new and unfamiliar
contexts, may provoke
some surprising scenarios
in the mind of the
listener, particularly at
a time when petty
chauvinism threatens to
rear up once again
throughout Europe. The
piece grows outof a short
sketch written earlier
this year, Memoire
Imperiale, which is based
on a march tune by
General Reid, an 18th
century British army
officer who established
the music department at
Edinburgh University.
This theme and the
imperial themes of Elgar
andArne are thrown into a
volatile concoction with
other materials an Irish
reel (which becomes a
jig), a Cockney drinking
song, other march tunes
and a hazy Celtic
modality. All the main
ideas are presented in a
quick and stark
succession during the
fast opening section. The
slow middle part begins
with aserene canon which
is gradually undermined
by military allusions on
brass and percussion.
This confrontation leads
to the works climax
followed by an unsettled
coda. Britannia is
dedicated to Libby
MacNamara of the
Association of British
Orchestras.
