Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Peter Dickinson
Jigsaws (1988)
- Novello & Co Ltd (World)
Programme Note
Commissioned by the East of England Orchestra with funds from East Midlands Arts and Lincolnshire and Humberside Arts. First performance at the Assembly Rooms, Derby, under Malcolm Nabarro, on October 12, 1988.
Jig-saws, for three quintets, harp and percussion, arises directly from the original commission. The work uses two folk tunes, one from each of the regions involved: the Derby Ram and the Lincolnshire Poacher. The Derbyshire team is represented by the quintet on the left of the stage and the Lincolnshire team is on the right: G major versus A major. These traditional tunes are supplemented by three more which I remembered or composed in my school days - a waltz in Bb major; a ballad in D major; and a music-hall number in Eb major.
The idea of Jig-saws comes from dealing with this material which, like a real puzzle, does not always fit. This makes an image of life itself so that, although Jig-saws has comedy, the ending is serious. The conflicts between the two opposing sides are represented stereophonically. The work'' plan, and in a sense its plot, could be this:
1. The harp introduces the chorale
2. In a fast tempo over a beat the Derby and Lincoln teams exchange their tunes and begin to collide. There are two variations of this section separated by two soft sections where the school tunes are mingled.
3. The harp chorale, with glissandi, ushers in the contests where each team fields an individual - tuba versus tenor trombone; cello versus double bass; two clarinets; two violins and finally two piccolos.
4. This violence is not a solution so the folk tunes are presented as funeral marches simultaneously. The harp, as commentator, goes its own way and when the marches are over reaches a cadenza.
5. The three groups become miniature dance orchestras, turning all the work's themes into Charlestons.
6. A tuba solo, with harp, leads back to the chorale and a kind of unity - the jig-saw can be made to fit.
© Peter Dickinson
Jig-saws, for three quintets, harp and percussion, arises directly from the original commission. The work uses two folk tunes, one from each of the regions involved: the Derby Ram and the Lincolnshire Poacher. The Derbyshire team is represented by the quintet on the left of the stage and the Lincolnshire team is on the right: G major versus A major. These traditional tunes are supplemented by three more which I remembered or composed in my school days - a waltz in Bb major; a ballad in D major; and a music-hall number in Eb major.
The idea of Jig-saws comes from dealing with this material which, like a real puzzle, does not always fit. This makes an image of life itself so that, although Jig-saws has comedy, the ending is serious. The conflicts between the two opposing sides are represented stereophonically. The work'' plan, and in a sense its plot, could be this:
1. The harp introduces the chorale
2. In a fast tempo over a beat the Derby and Lincoln teams exchange their tunes and begin to collide. There are two variations of this section separated by two soft sections where the school tunes are mingled.
3. The harp chorale, with glissandi, ushers in the contests where each team fields an individual - tuba versus tenor trombone; cello versus double bass; two clarinets; two violins and finally two piccolos.
4. This violence is not a solution so the folk tunes are presented as funeral marches simultaneously. The harp, as commentator, goes its own way and when the marches are over reaches a cadenza.
5. The three groups become miniature dance orchestras, turning all the work's themes into Charlestons.
6. A tuba solo, with harp, leads back to the chorale and a kind of unity - the jig-saw can be made to fit.
© Peter Dickinson