Richard Peirson – Allegro Risotto for String Orchestra (Parts)

The result of a commission by the Rugby Sinfonia in 1984, Allegro Risotto is an ambitious one movement work that contrasts lively, energetic sections (containing exciting rhythms and occasional unequal bar lengths) with calmer, more lyrical passages.

The first movement is a Fantasia, which contains elements of sonata, rondo, and fugue. The slow movement that follows ended up more turbulent and impassioned than the composer had originally anticipated, having been written at the time of the funeral of a friend. The final movement is in complete contrast, and is meant to be carefree and light-hearted. It began as a Tarantella, a lively dance, but during the course of its composition, the composer decided to try and incorporate a Welsh element into what is originally a Spanish Dance. As a result a well known Welsh tune emerges in the texture of the dance, in the beginning hidden away so that its first fragmentary statement may well be missed altogether. Gradually the tune becomes more insistent until it eventually dominates the final section of the movement, by which time only a tone deaf listener could fail to recognise it! For secondary schools, colleges and conservatories.