PF2023 Brochure - Flipbook - Page 17
viola, to an accompaniment of arpeggio figures
on the other instruments – a motif which is itself
derived from the first movement and which acts
as a kind of ostinato throughout the scherzo. The
accompanying figure in the trio is also of more than
usual importance: it supports a fortissimo theme
in octaves on the first violin, which is inverted
in the central section. The reprise of the scherzo
brings many radical differences in layout, and the
movement finally comes to rest on the notes of the
ostinato figure of the accompaniment.
In the design of the last movement Britten openly
pays homage to Purcell. His theme is remarkable
for the fact that, although it has the rhythmic
characteristics of a typical chaconne theme, it is
nine (rather than eight) bars long, and because it
contrives to end unequivocally in C major in spite
of having started off in B flat. There are twentyone variations arranged in four groups separated
from each other by three cadential passages (for
the cello, the viola and the first violin). The first
group comprises six variations which present the
theme in different harmonic settings; the second
group of six explores its rhythmic potentialities;
and the third group of six presents the theme as an
accompaniment to a melody which is itself being
varied. The last three variations (after a cadenza
from the first violin) act as a coda.
Copyright note used with kind permission from the
Estate of the late Robin Golding
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