The Symphony No. 1 by Robert Simpson was completed in 1951 and submitted as his doctorate thesis for the University of Durham.
It is scored with a fairly standard orchestra with the exception that high D trumpets are used instead of the standard B flat trumpets.
The work is in three connected movements, all in one basic pulse so that tempo changes are all proportionally related. The work pits the tonalities of A and E flat against each other. It ...
more
The Symphony No. 1 by Robert Simpson was completed in 1951 and submitted as his doctorate thesis for the University of Durham.
It is scored with a fairly standard orchestra with the exception that high D trumpets are used instead of the standard B flat trumpets.
The work is in three connected movements, all in one basic pulse so that tempo changes are all proportionally related. The work pits the tonalities of A and E flat against each other. It begins with a fanfare-like introduction from the brass and which then resides for several moments into a quieter section dominated by the strings which develops the main motives.
The second part is half the basic pulse of the opening and is almost completely diatonic, again dominated mostly by strings and introducing a theme which was metamorphosed from the opening section. It is very peaceful, and evokes timeless purity in which its restrained melancholy conveys a meditative atmosphere.
Both themes of the opening are combined to form a Part 3...
less
