William Mathias Catalogue

Laudi
Full orchestra
2 fl, 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 bn, cbn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, 3 tbn, timp, 3 perc
(glock, vib, bells, SD, MD, tri, w blk, sus cym, clash cym,
timbale, bongos (mid to high), whip, tam), pn (+cel), str
Hire score and parts 9780193656628
Study score* 9780193656611
Laudi was first performed at the Llandaff Festival in June
1977, dedicated to the artistic director of festival, the late
Christopher Cory. The opening flourish, glittering with
percussive bell-like sonorities, underlines its sense of
ritual and praises. The initial gestures give way to a central
section of contemplation before a rhythmically exhilarating
ride leads to an expectant climax. The work is recorded
by the New Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by David
Atherton on Argo ZRG 882.
*Available from June Emerson Wind Music
14 minutes
Litanies
Full orchestra
2 fl, 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 bn, cbn, 3 hn, 2 tpt, 3 tbn, timp, 2 perc
(TD, SD, BD, cym, tam, w blk, glock, xylo, vib, tbell), hp,
pn/cel, str
Hire score and parts 9780193656543
Commissioned by the BBC in Wales in 1967, Litanies is a
concertante for orchestra in twenty-seven sections. The
work was dedicated to the composer’s father.
14 minutes
arr. Philip Lane
Parisian Suite
2 fl (picc), 2 ob (cor ang), 2 cl (bss cl & alto sax), 2 bn (cnt
bsn), 4 hn, 2 tpt, 3 tbn, tba, timp, perc (bd, sd, cym, tri,
glock) hrp, str
Score and parts* 9780193657168
Mathias composed his Suite Parisienne for two pianos in
September 1953 when he was 18 years old. Just before his
death in 1992, he rediscovered this early piece and revised
it for publication. Philip Lane’s orchestration is based upon
this revised version.
En voyage · Promenade · Montmartre
*Available from Good Music Publishers
7.5 minutes
arr. Philip Lane
Processional
Full orchestra
2 fl (picc), 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 bn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, 3 tbn, tba (opt),
timp, perc (tri, sd drm, claves, glock, xylo) hrp, str
Score and parts* 9780193356450
This work was originally conceived for organ and published
in 1965. Like so much music for organ, it has inherent
orchestral possibilities which have been brought out in this
arrangement by Philip Lane.
*Available from Good Music Publishers
3.5 minutes
Requiescat
Full orchestra
2 fl (II+picc), 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 bn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, 3 tbn, timp, 2 perc
(vib, sus cy, glock, tbells), cel, hp, str
Hire score and parts 9780193656758
Study score* 9780193656741
Requiescat was composed in 1977 and dedicated ‘In
Memoriam Sir Ben Bowen Thomas’, a key founder of the
North Wales Music Festival. The largely elegiac character
of Requiescat is implicit in the title, and the music unfolds
in broad lyrical paragraphs, developing inexorably
towards a powerful climax. This subsides, descending
sequentially to a recapitulation (in varied form) of the
opening melodic strand of the work, and merges into the
enveloping harmonic stasis with which the work comes
to its suspended conclusion. Under the final page Mathias
quotes a line from Sir Thomas Browne - ‘And the slumber of
the body seems to be but the waking of the soul’.
*Available from June Emerson Wind Music
10 minutes
Orchestral
5