21.

ANDREW DOWNES PUBLISHED WORKS

ORCHESTRAL Symphonic Centenary Firedances; Symphonies 1,2,3,4,5


CENTENARY FIREDANCES Opus 43 (1988) 20'                                                                                                                                              

To hear a performance of  Centenary Firedances on YouTube, click:   1     2     3      4      5
                                                                                               
For full symphony orchestra including a large group of percussion instruments (together with marimbas, bongos, cowbells, tom-toms and an Irish drum) and two sets of timpani.
Commissioned in association with DRAGONFIRE LTD by the City of Birmingham for its Centenary Celebrations 1989.
First performance in the Adrian Boult Hall, Birmingham, by the Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jonathan del Mar, on March 3rd 1989.
Major performance by the same musicians on June 24th 1989 in Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, with grand firework display by Dragonfire Ltd. Subsequent performances of the work at midsummer events at Cannon Hill Park in 1991 and 1992 to audiences of tens of thousands.
Subsequent performers of the work include the Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Leon Gee, Northamptonshire Youth Orchestra, Exeter University Symphony Orchestra, Central England Ensemble and Haybridge Community Orchestra.

'.....Then came the premiere of Centenary Firedances by Andrew Downes and what a stunner it proved!
'A fourteen-man percussion section unifies five dances, the sounds of the tom-toms, marimbas, cowbells and the rest all clearly realised.
'As in other examples of this composer's music, there is the occasional American impression, either of rugged simplicity, or of driving energy.
'The audience loved it, and so did the performers under Jonathan del Mar, and it is wonderful news that this terrific piece is to be recorded.' BIRMINGHAM POST
A commercial cassette recording of the work was made and all copies were sold out at the first Cannon Hill Park performance! A re-release of this recording is now available on CD (see Discography).  The recording was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 "Listeners' Choice" on September 22nd 2001, and has on numerous occasions been broadcast on Musicians Page Radio, Los Angeles, USA.   See review of CD    Purchase CD

SYMPHONY No.1 Opus 27 (1982) 35'  View Score
For organ, brass (8 trumpets, 4 horns, 3 trombones, tuba), percussion (including vibraphone) and strings.
4 movements: Prelude and Fanfare; Ricercare Scherzo; Postlude
First performance given by the Birmingham School of Music Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mark Foster, on 11th July 1984 in All Saints Church, Cheltenham, as part of the Cheltenham Festival, in a concert to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Gustav Holst, former organist at the church.  The same orchestra gave a second performance of the work in St George’s Church, Edgbaston, Birmingham, in July 1984.

'...this is a brilliant work written as a cry from the heart for recognition of the horror of nuclear war.'
BIRMINGHAM EVENING MAIL

'...a fine work laid out with the orchestral clarity that is a salient feature of the composer's individual style.......this symphony progresses with dignity from despair to a final ray of hope expressed by Downes with an immediacy of communication that lies at the heart of all musical inspiration.'
BIRMINGHAM POST


SYMPHONY No.2 Opus 30 (I984) 20'  View Score

To hear a performance of  Symphony No.2 on YouTube, click:   1      2      3
 

For Chamber Orchestra (2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings)
3 movements
Commissioned by the Sutton Coldfield Chamber Orchestra to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their foundation.
First performed by the orchestra, directed by Anthony Miller, on November l7th 1985 at Sutton Coldfield Town Hall.

Subsequent performances have been given by the Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Anthony Miller, in the Adrian Boult Hall, Birmingham (1988);  the Sinfonia of St Paul's, conducted by Fa Fa Jin, in St Paul’s Church, Hockley (1992); and the Leamington Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Mogrelia, in the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick (1992).  Two performances by the Orchestra of the University of Oldenburg, conducted by Rida Murtada, were given at the Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg, Germany, in 2002.  The Central England Ensemble, conducted by Anthony Bradbury, has performed the work at the CBSO Centre, Birmingham (2001), at a Queen's Jubilee concert in Hagley, Worcestershire (2002), and twice in Paris at the American Cathedral and American Church in 2007. 

A recording of the Birmingham Conservatoire performance has been broadcast many times on Musicians Page Radio, Los Angeles, USA.

'The music is imaginatively laid out with interesting ideas developed most skilfully. Another virtue, that of developing these meaty musical ideas in concise fashion, gave this first hearing immediate communication.'
BIRMINGHAM POST

'The Symphony no.2 Op. 30 is a splendid work.  It is a very fine score noted for its clarity and textural integrity. Its quasi-classical design leads to an even greater enjoyment. It is a score with life and a contrast that is so well-judged that it does not sound episodic. The opening movement begins with a flute solo in a typical Downes's style, simple but telling. In fact, the themes of this movement are memorable. The rhythmic sections are invigorating and beautifully set out for the orchestra. The Vivace starts lightly with deceptively simple themes which make them all the more endearing; there are some clever contrasts and a welcome open-air feel about the music. The finale also has simple themes but they are never banal. The preoccupation with the interval of the fourth has an integral part to play and there is a simply stunning fanfare-like passage before the quiet close.'   Dr David Wright, MUSICWEB                 



SYMPHONY No.3 "SPIRITS OF THE EARTH" Opus 45 (1992) 30'  View Score
For large symphony orchestra - 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 3 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contra bassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, tuned percussion (crotales, 2 glockenspiels, 1 xylophone, 3 marimbas), percussion (a-go-go- bell, 3 cowbells, Chinese blocks, whip, wood block, suspended cymbal, cymbal, gong, tubular bells), drums (tom-toms; frame drums - tuned and unpitched; large bongos; side drum; bass drum; drum kit; about 6 unpitched drums; deep, hollow, pitchless drums) and strings.
The work has 5 movements.
First performed by the Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Mogrelia on 1st April 1993, in a concert in aid of the NSPCC, in the Adrian Boult Hall, Birmingham. The work is dedicated to the NSPCC.

'Two triumphant premieres in three days! After Thursday's success of his eloquent Third Symphony, Andrew Downes heard his deeply affecting St Luke Passion given on Saturday...
'Spirits of the Earth, his third Symphony, is probably the most demanding work Andrew Downes has yet written.
"It assumes virtuosity from its players, a finely honed sense of collective ensemble, and the capacity for various sections of the orchestra to play in several independent tempi.
'As the substantial five movement work moves towards its close these disparate elements come together in final reconciliation.
'The premiere it received last night from the Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra was nothing short of astonishing. Very few inaccuracies marred this virile, sensitive performance...'
THE BIRMINGHAM POST


SYMPHONY No.4 - scored for Concert Wind Band - See under Wind Band - page 22
SYMPHONY No.5 - scored for Flute Orchestra - See under Instrumental Ensembles/Flutes - page 16

RETURN TO CONTENTS PAGE

Previous page / Next page