About the Music

We thank the composer for sharing a few words about the work:

My Bass Clarinet Concerto was composed expressly for Gerry Green, in admiration and friendship. The subtitle "In Memoriam" is due in part to the work being composed in memory of my friend and former BSO colleague, Andrew Morley, who passed away last year.

The work is cast in a single movement although 3 sections can be clearly distinguished. After a rather intense opening, relieved by a gentler pastoral episode, the music becomes ever more agitated until it leads into the central faster section, which is replete with both uncertainty and humour, the latter represented by both a brusque jig-like passage and evocations of galloping hunting horns. Towards the end of this quick section, a new lyrical theme emerges on cellos before being taken over by violins with a horn countermelody, which marks the start of the final slower section. From this point onwards, the music becomes ever more serene, characterised by a mood of acceptance and resignation. The lyrical theme makes a final appearance on solo bass clarinet before the tranquil close.

The scoring is unusual - 4 horns, contrabassoon, harp and strings along with the solo bass clarinet, which exploits all registers and timbres of this instrument, very rarely given a concerto role.

Extended-range instrument NOT required. Full score: 143 pages. Parts: 4-12 pages each.

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About the Composer

Frederick Paul Naftel was born in Manchester, UK in 1956. He graduated from Manchester University in 1978 and received a Fellowship in Composition from Trinity College of Music, London in October 1980. Frederick's interest in composing began when he was fourteen and developed at University, where he specialized in this area. Although largely self-taught,he considers himself to be an "eclectic" composer, able to write in many styles and formats,as befits the occasion.

Compositions include 2 Concerti for Orchestra, 2 Symphonies and numerous chamber music works. "The Legend of Pandora", a ballet suite, was premiered in July 2017 and September 2018 saw the first performance of the "Double Concerto for 2 Tubas and Orchestra" ("From the Mountains and the Fjords"). Frederick is presently working on a Renaissance Dance Suite, Requiem for Female Choir and a Third Symphony.