Variations

This work consists of three variation cycles, which are distributed among the three constituent movements in different ways. The first movement comprises the half of cycle one. These variations always begin with untuned percussion and get progressively longer, although they do not reach their most expansive form by the end of the movement. They are intensely introspective and unstable in tempo.

The second movement contains the first part of cycle two. Here the procedure is reversed, in that the variations begin in their most definitive form and then gradually disintegrate. They also contrast with the variations of the first cycle in their constant fast tempo, uniform length, and extrovert nature.

In the final movement, these first two cycles collide. The first cycle now starts at its most expansive and then recedes to the form in which it began the first movement, while the second cycle starts fractured and builds back to the definitive form with which began the second movement.

The third variation cycle is a series of canons (at ever-expanding intervals) which appear in all three movements. They are very slow in tempo and dominated by the sound of the basset horn. They frame the first and last movements and appear elsewhere to advance and control the drama of the work.

The idea of advancing arguments to a certain point, and then gradually combining them, was initially inspired by the formal design of William Golding’s Darkness Visible, although the Variations do not refer to the actual content of that novel.

Variations was commissioned by The Fires of London with funds from the Arts Council of Great Britain. It was premiered 25 February 1986 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London by The Fires of London conducted by Nicholas Cleobury. 

The work was selected for the 1988 International Rostrum of Composers in Paris and subsequently broadcast throughout the world.

Philip Grange