Some years ago, I walked around the circumference of inner London, mainly on footpaths, following the ‘Capital Ring’ walking route. I had my son Sam for company – he was living in London at the time, and we met up at a train or tube station, walked a few miles, and said farewell at another station, resuming the next stage of the walk a few weeks later. The whole walk is 78 miles and it took us around ten days, spaced over a year, to do the lot. All the days were interesting, often visiting parts of London that were new to me, but one which particularly fascinated us both was the walk along the old railway line from Highgate to Alexandra Palace (which admittedly was a slight diversion from the official route) – not just the spacious views from the Muswell Hill viaduct, but also the inventive graffiti on the walls, the spooky tunnels, and the disused stations!
So it was rather a co-incidence that soon afterwards I had a commission for a new piece, from The Palace Band. Named after Alexandra Palace, this is an ensemble of amateur woodwind players who have commissioned quite a number of pieces in a ‘flexible’ format – four instrumental parts which can be shared between whatever players are available – predominantly flutes and clarinets, but also saxophones, oboes and bassoons.
I wrote five movements, which are all linked in some way with Alexandra Palace and its history.
- Intrada: a fanfare-like movement which sets the scene
- Palace Pavane: the slow steps of the pavane rhythm suggests a leisurely train journey to the Palace, crossing the disused Muswell Hill Viaduct (now a footpath), with its broad view over London. There is also an element of nostalgic sadness that the railway trains here are no more, and, perhaps, a hint of some slightly scary graffiti and tunnels.
- Alley Dance: The Palace was popularly known as ‘Alley Pally’ in the past – but here, ‘Alley’ suggested this slightly disreputable rhythmic dance.
- Princess Alexandra’s Minuet: Here we move back in time with a stately minuet which is dedicated, not to the present day Princess Alexandra, but to Alexandra of Denmark, married to King Edward VII, and after whom the Palace was named.
- Palais de Danse: The palace, in its heyday at the turn of the twentieth century, hosts a fast waltz, featuring a couple who arrived on a tandem – ‘a bicycle made for two’ – quoting a popular song of the time, ‘Daisy Bell’.
Palace Dances was commissioned by Caroline Franklyn, Stephanie Reeve, and the Palace Band. The first performance was on 16 November 2008, at Highgate United Reformed Church, London.
Here’s a link to a scrolling score on YouTube
Here’s a link to Soundcloud
The score and parts are available from Sheet Music Plus and Sheet Music Direct. Please visit this page for details.
An arrangement of the fourth movement, Princess Alexandra’s Minuet, will also soon be available separately for the following quartets: Three Clarinets and Bass Clarinet; Saxophone Quartet; String Quartet.