Mr Carleton His Prelude (1986)
Free ramble for piano duet
Dedicated to Roy and Andrea Stratford
Publisher: Bardic Edition
Score BDE 1440
Available from Goodmusic Publishing
Duration: c. 3 minutes
Première
First performance: 23 June 1986; British Music Information Centre, London; Roy Stratford and Michael Blake piano 4 hands
Programme note
I came across several works for keyboard duet collected in the Tomkins Manuscript when I was assembling a programme of British keyboard duets from the 16th to the 20th century. The two most familiar pieces were A Fancy by Thomas Tomkins and and A Verse (c.1550) by Nicholas Carleton (or Carlston), both with the designation ‘for two to play on one virginal’.
I also found three solo pieces by a Nycholas Carleton in the Mulliner Book (c.1555) – A Verse in Four Parts, Upon the Sharpe and a Praeludium. Almost nothing is known about either of the Carletons, and these four pieces appear to be their complete extant works (or perhaps it is the same person?).
This little Praeludium by Nicholas Carleton seemed to me to be missing a top part, and as an exercise I composed a ‘primo’ part in the style of the original. Then I thought of making some variations - in the spirit of Percy Grainger - and with his Blithe Bells (Bach’s Sheep my safely graze for two pianos) ringing in my head, I invoked little bells and deep bells and some rather juicy un-Carletonian chords.
Free ramble for piano duet
Dedicated to Roy and Andrea Stratford
Publisher: Bardic Edition
Score BDE 1440
Available from Goodmusic Publishing
Duration: c. 3 minutes
Première
First performance: 23 June 1986; British Music Information Centre, London; Roy Stratford and Michael Blake piano 4 hands
Programme note
I came across several works for keyboard duet collected in the Tomkins Manuscript when I was assembling a programme of British keyboard duets from the 16th to the 20th century. The two most familiar pieces were A Fancy by Thomas Tomkins and and A Verse (c.1550) by Nicholas Carleton (or Carlston), both with the designation ‘for two to play on one virginal’.
I also found three solo pieces by a Nycholas Carleton in the Mulliner Book (c.1555) – A Verse in Four Parts, Upon the Sharpe and a Praeludium. Almost nothing is known about either of the Carletons, and these four pieces appear to be their complete extant works (or perhaps it is the same person?).
This little Praeludium by Nicholas Carleton seemed to me to be missing a top part, and as an exercise I composed a ‘primo’ part in the style of the original. Then I thought of making some variations - in the spirit of Percy Grainger - and with his Blithe Bells (Bach’s Sheep my safely graze for two pianos) ringing in my head, I invoked little bells and deep bells and some rather juicy un-Carletonian chords.
