Three Dances for Clarinet Choir

three dances for clarinet choir

Commissioned by the British Federation of Music Festivals, with funds provided by Yorkshire Arts Association, Three Dances for Clarinet Choir received its first performance under the direction of John Reynolds, to whom it is dedicated, in July 1985 in Harrogate.

The first movement, with its constantly changing metre and infectious rhythms, is based on a dance originally sketched for the masque in an abandoned production of Troilus and Cressida. The Andante con moto, with its alternating passages of three-four and three-eight time, is suggestive of a ‘pas de deux’ where a gentle, slow waltz-like tune is contrasted with a ländler-like melody. This movement leads without a break into the final Allegro, a rumbustious ensemble dance with a definite ‘Slavic’ feel to it.

Since composing Three Dances for Clarinet Choir, I have rewritten the piece for symphonic wind orchestra with the title Bohemian Dances, as many of the themes were originally composed for a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, the fourth act of which is set in Bohemia.                                              GW