Baritone Solo

Written for Kartina Marzella. This piece was first performed by Katrina Marzella at the Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow in November 2004 with the Whitburn Band conducted by the composer.

Programme notes:
Concerto for Baritone is in three movements and is a varied dialogue between soloist and band setting out to demonstrate the many facets of Katrina Marzella’s exceptional ability on her chosen instrument, the Baritone.

The first movement ‘Allegro’ is written loosely in Sonata form and is based around a scale made up of a sequence of alternate tone and semitone intervals, a mode commonly used by Bela Bartok . After ashort introduction from the band the Soloist is introduced playing in a declamatory style, this is followed by a short cadenza which in turn leads into the main theme of the movement. A central section using some mixed meters has the soloist playing a cantabile muted theme in the Baritone’s upper register. A brief return to the opening material leads into the coda which brings the movement to a gentle close with some new material anticipating the second movement, ‘Romance’. -

The ‘Romance’ lets the soloist display the beautiful singing qualities of the Baritone. This movement is based around a theme which begins using the interval of the Sixth, the inversion of the interval of a third, and this forms the melodic and harmonic basis of the two outer movements. ‘Romance’ is written in Ternary form.

The last movement ‘Rondo’ is lively and full of vitality and make demands of the soloists both in terms of range and technical facility. A more thoughtful slower melody briefly interrupts this mood, but it’s not too long before the more playful music wins through with a return to the Rondo theme. During the progress of the movement there are two cadenzas, the second being more extensive and based on similar material to the cadenza in the opening of the first movement. Following this, the piece comes to a loud and upbeat close with a final emphatic statement of the opening motif of the Rondo theme.