Warbeck Dances

*4 Dances* Introductory notes in English only.

1. Processional (The Uneasy Crown)
2. The Earl of Huntly
3. Edinburgh Revels
4. Whitsand Bay to Tyburn

*Stephen Dodgson was born in London in 1924 and studied at the Royal College of Music where, from 1965,he taught theory and composition. He has written orchestrl, instrumental, vocal and chamber music. 

*Warbeck Dances

This work derives from incidental music commissioned for the 1969 BBC production of John Ford's play 'Perkin Warbeck' (1634)

The instrumental forces included recorder (treble and sopranino) with a prominent role in several dance sequences. It was these which pro,pted the composition of Warbeck Dances. The derivation is consequently fairly direct in the two central movements. 

By contrast, the first is more freely developed from a single scene-setting cue, and serves much the same purpose here, though in this elaborated form it acquires a distinct dance-like character as it builds up. 

The last movement juxtaposes a highly charged expressive recitative with a burlesque peasant dance, representing the raucous mockery of the mob following the forlorn imposter to the gallows. While this faithfully reflects the dramatic action, it nevertheless involved substantial deviation from the original score, and this transformation has in turn been extended in preparation for this published edition. 

It was at this stage that the composer was struck with the opportunity of making a fuller version of the composition with the addition of the bassoon. This has the title 'Warbeck Trio'. 

Stephen Dodgson 2003

Score 21 pages. 1 part @ 7 pages.