Concerto for Harmonica, Percussion and Strings (1966)

The Concerto for Harmonica, Percussion and Strings (1966) occupies a distinctive place in the composer's output. Before moving to the UK in 1962, the largely self-taught Sohal was an accomplished harmonica player in Punjab, frequently performing popular songs on the instrument during his student days. Composed shortly after his arrival in London, this fifteen-minute concerto bridges his early musical experiences with the modern Western classical language he was beginning to explore while working as a copyist for Boosey & Hawkes. It also remains one of the few concert works for the chromatic harmonica composed in the twentieth century.

Written for the legendary virtuoso Larry Adler, the concerto is cast in a single continuous span of around fifteen minutes, unfolding through a series of contrasting episodes without interruption. It sets the solo instrument against a colourful ensemble of four percussionists, two harps, mandolin, piano (doubling celesta), and string orchestra. Long, lyrical lines for the harmonica unfold against a constantly changing orchestral backdrop: at times static, luminous string textures, at others rhythmic ostinati or sweeping string glissandi, while the harmonica remains anchored in its melodic world. The mandolin contributes an occasional timbral colour, adding a distinctive resonance to the orchestral palette. Although episodic in construction, the concerto is unified by Sohal's instinctive command of colour and texture, moving seamlessly between contrasting musical ideas while maintaining a clear sense of continuity.

Utsyo Chakravorty