(I) Piping Hot

I have never had a close association with bagpipes – I prefer them to be a long way away! However, during my RAF career I was once asked to write a march for the RAF Voluntary Pipe Band. I gave the resulting piece the excruciating title of ‘Aerodrone’ and it forms the basis of Piping Hot. It depicts a band marching through the streets with the pipers taking the lead. Once having played through their tune the music gets passed to the woodwind and, for a while, all is sweetness and light. Shortly other parts of the band get restless and try to impose their own tune on the rest - I am not sure whether drink is involved! Mayhem threatens to break out so the Drum Major sharply calls the band to order and, with the exception of a few outbreaks of exuberance, they successfully complete their march.

Published by Studio Music Company

(II) The Shadow of Autumn

The melancholic feel of The Shadow of Autumn is typical of several minor-key English folk tunes and sets out to evoke the beauty of the season, tinged with some sadness at the passing of summer and the onset of winter.

Published by Studio Music Company

(III) Reel Time

This movement seeks to capture the quintessential spirit of Irish Reels. Like Grainger’s ‘Molly on the Shore’, Reel Time is a work-out for the woodwind, not that the brass remain completely unscathed. The reels appear in various guises and the dancing becomes more frenzied as the pace accelerates to the end.