I think that composers sometimes find that a piece emerges really easily, going straight on to the page, whereas they find that other pieces take time, many sketches, different attempts, before they reach a satisfactory state. I certainly find that myself – and today’s piece, ‘Lyric Overture’ is one of those pieces which looks as if it went onto the page quickly and smoothly, without second thoughts.
Actually, I can’t remember why I wrote it! It was in 1976, and I’d just started teaching at Colchester Institute and bought a little house in a village a few miles away. There must have been a reason for my writing it – perhaps it was for a competition, or a call for scores – but it didn’t win or get selected. However, three years later I was delighted when a colleague of mine, Christopher Phelps, gave it its first performance with the Ipswich Orchestral Society, in the Corn Exchange in Ipswich. It was an exciting performance, and I think this was the occasion that I left my seat after the performance to shake hands with the conductor, and, when I returned, a late-comer was in my seat, and to avoid embarrassment I went and stood at the back.
I recently revisited the piece (after nearly 50 years!), put it on music software, and pressed a few buttons to make a digital performance – not quite as exciting as the live one I remember, but better than nothing. And it was interesting to look at this piece again, and wonder why I wrote it! I’d written orchestral pieces before, and they’d been performed, but I think this is the first one where I feel now that I knew what I was doing, and would be happy to hear once more. It does seem to be a very cheerful piece, apart from a more expressive interlude, based on the opening motif, and a couple of quasi-dramatic moments, and feels like a lively curtain-raiser and designed to appeal to the audience.
If I were writing it today?… well, I think I might cut it a bit. Occasionally it sounds as if I’ve got carried away and moved into another piece – but maybe that’s part of its charm? Anyway, I’ve not revised it. It does feel quite pictorial, and makes me think of the seaside, perhaps. I can’t remember if that was the specific intention – it would probably have been in the title if it was? – but I can imagine a busy and noisy sea-side resort, with a pier, amusement arcade, fish and chips, and so on, and walking along the promenade the music changes as you pass the different stalls.
So there are a few question marks about this week’s ‘piece of the week’ – but I hope you enjoy it. And I’ve added a seaside image – Clacton-on-Sea, Essex – to get into the mood.