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- Malcolm Arnold
Concerto for Organ & Orchestra (1954)
- Paterson Publications (World)
Programme Note
This Concerto is in three movements, and is written for three trumpets, timpani and strings. The trumpet parts are in the high register, in the tradition of Bach and Handel.
The first movement (Vivace) is based on two themes – the first played by strings in octaves at the start of the movement; the second, later on in the movement, is played by the organ, interrupted angrily by the orchestra.
In the second movement (Lento) the organ is accompanied only by muted strings. The form is very simple (Ternary, in fact) and the movement could best be described as a meditation.
The last movement (Allegretto) is a fugue, the subject of which is a rhythmical variation of the first movement. This leads to a climax when the violins and violas play the fugue subject and organ and trumpets play the theme of the first movement in its original form. A short and loud coda brings the work to an end.
© Sir Malcolm Arnold
The first movement (Vivace) is based on two themes – the first played by strings in octaves at the start of the movement; the second, later on in the movement, is played by the organ, interrupted angrily by the orchestra.
In the second movement (Lento) the organ is accompanied only by muted strings. The form is very simple (Ternary, in fact) and the movement could best be described as a meditation.
The last movement (Allegretto) is a fugue, the subject of which is a rhythmical variation of the first movement. This leads to a climax when the violins and violas play the fugue subject and organ and trumpets play the theme of the first movement in its original form. A short and loud coda brings the work to an end.
© Sir Malcolm Arnold
Media
Concerto for Organ and Orchestra, Op. 47: I. Vivace
Concerto for Organ and Orchestra, Op. 47: II. Lento
Concerto for Organ and Orchestra, Op. 47: III. Allegretto
Malcolm Arnold: Concerto for Organ and Orchestra, Op. 47, movt I. Vivace
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More Info
- All 20 of Arnold's Concerti at the 2025 Malcolm Arnold Festival
- 17th October 2025
- For the 20th edition of the Malcolm Arnold Festival all 20 of the composer's concertos will be performed across the weekend.