William Mathias Catalogue

String Ensemble
Divertimento for String Orchestra
String Orchestra
Hire score and parts 9780193655867
Recorded by the English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by
David Atherton on Decca SXL 6468.
Allegro ritmico · Lento non troppo · Allegro
12 minutes
Music for Strings
String orchestra
Hire score and parts 9780193655966
Introduction (Maestoso) · Canto · Danza
17 minutes
Prelude, Aria and Finale
String orchestra
Score 9780193656420
Prelude, Aria and Finale for string orchestra was written in
1964 for the Caerphilly Festival. The single-movement work
was conceived as a compression of a multi-movement
archetype and has three unified sections (rather than three
movements). The work can be thought of as an imagined
musical triptych, the outer two sections contrasting to the
expressive central Aria. Although strikingly individual in
character, the Prelude and the Finale are, in general terms,
marked by their urgency of tone and juxtaposed rhythmic
fragments; the Finale in particular captures the rhythmic
quality associated with the spirit of dance. In contrast, the
central Aria is a rich palette of melody, where divisi stringwriting
is utilised to enhance the expansive nature of the
musical material.
10 minutes
String Ensemble
Threnos
String orchestra
Hire score and parts 9780193656932
This impressive single-movement score for stings was
commissioned by the 1990 Lichfield Festival for the
Guildhall String Ensemble and formed a companion piece
to the earlier and essentially luminous Greek-inspired Melos
for harp, flute, percussion, and strings. The emotional
world of Threnos - threnody – explores the concept of grief
and loss through a wide variety of contrasted expressions:
the music moves from contemplation to anger, from
consolation to anguish.
17 minutes
11