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  • John McCabe

  • Le Poisson Magique (1964)

  • Novello & Co Ltd (World)
  • organ
  • 6 min

Programme Note

This short work for organ was commissioned by the late Brian Runnett, to whom it is dedicated. The idea for the work came from the painting Le Poisson Magique by Paul Klee, and my response to the colours of the picture can be noted in the harmonic style of the work and the use of arabesque-like decoration of the chords. There are two tempi, which alternate, and the work is in the form of both a free Passacaglia and a set of alternating variations in the tradition of Haydn. In the painting there is tremendous variety, both of colour and line, unified by a delicate balance of form and an overall sense of a single experience. It is hoped that a similar unity through diversity is to be found in the music.

Programme note © Copyright 1991 by John McCabe

Discography