John Marvin Five Pieces for English Horn and Piano 1989 L_ Exposition I. Madrigal I. Burlesca IV. Romance Vv. Pastoral | English Horn | Dedicated to Julie Ann GiacobassiProgram notes: The idea behind these pieces was to produce music that was explicitly for the English horn (rather than the ‘oboe), and that furthermore provided a meaningful and interesting dialogue between the English horn and the piano. The five pieces form, in effect, a suite in five movements that are designed to work as a single musical concept when performed together. At the same time, they should stand alone and thus provide flexible options to the English hom recitalist attempting to put together a program from the still limited ‘repertory for the instrument. The first piece, Exposition, is essentially just that: two theme groups that could well form the exposition of a sonatalike allegro movement. There is no development, but a coda based on the first motif acts somewhat as a recapitulation and brings the piece to a close. One could also think of Exposition as a fanfare; it begins with a series of flourishes that are traded back and forth between two instruments, and the concluding section contains some challenging bravura passages. Madrigal, explores quiet, lyrical part-writing in which the English hom carries a voice line of nearly equal importance to the lines in the piano. The lines interweave and overlap, meter changes are frequent, and the ‘motion hesitates at cadence points. The piano makes an expansive and more impassioned solo statement in the middle section. A major triad on the lowered fourth degree of the b-minor scale sounding over the tonic, heard once in the first section, gradually dominates the tonal structure by the end of the piece. The third piece, Burlesca, is a bizarre scherzo but with elements of good fun. In compound meter, dynamic variations are sudden and extreme. Melodic fragments and runs are traded back and forth between the English hom and piano to end the piece on a quite note. In Romance, the English horn spins a long descending line over simple block chords in the piano until the CChopinesque middle section for the piano alone. The English hom enters accompagnato near the end of the middle section, gradually emerges to take the lead again, and then the original tune is recapitulated with ‘ornamentation. A coda on the middle section material merges lyrical lines in the English horn and piano ‘over quietly moving triplets. The last piece, Pastoral, begins with smooth lines suggestive of a traditional pastoral but in a somewhat darker mood. A few flourishes interrupt the flow momentarily, but the mood is not really restored. Then a fairly long sequence emerges that becomes quite stormy. The pastoral mood returns with a cadenza in the English horn accompanied by harp-lke arpeggios, and leads directly into a restatement of the opening lines but in a tonal center quite foreign to the beginning. Three concluding 32nd note figures in the English hom suggest a turn toward major tonality and resolution. John Marvin<25R6 Exposition Madrigal Burlesca Romance Pastoral won nomExposition aa lib intempo tempo atempo rit 3 ies (sal Oger) feel lenge Uses etal _ ©1898 John MarvinMeno Mosso #=84 eas ; Tempot_dewe Meno Mosso J. 84 accel. al Tempo 1 Tempo I Je 132 (senza rit.) =Madrigal Andante b = 128Burlesca Allegreto d. =88 1Romance Leno das te— pr Poco a poco crese. a rit, > atempol , Ay - Saeco yp wheter wr = Teo = et od Andantino 4 = 100 (accomp.) P a Meno MossoPoco a poco cresc. 2 rit. mp a tempol ee f of —— mp 42 ———a—aSN cresc. === } f “~ rit. Lek Largo =48 2——-e af ————————————_ pppPastoral Moderato J =74 poco rit a tempo —— Sp Arb old triplet = new dotted quarter Je —— 6? mf ==> ¥ — 7 —— a —=fAE fee poco a poco rit, rit. al fine-- eeExposition tego de1oe English Hom af ——— Piano -1- ©1298 John Marvin= tee] Cece) mae A mae pa 37 a a —— ms9 | sara To rsapsnl| men ps eS SS =~ Meno os J=a4Tempo dewseMadrigalBurlesca-12--13-e140Romance -15--16--17-(Poco a poco cres -18-tempo d=as -19-Pastoral Moieato deze -20--2-Poco rit. tempo ee dotted quarter f—— YH -22-poco a poco rit.ay Tempo den -27-