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Colin Matthews

Composer

Matthews’ statement has a power and elegance that are quite his own.

— Paul Driver, The Sunday Times

Purcell : Fantazia 13 (1995) 4 players / String quartet

The manuscript of Purcell’s thirteenth fantasia, composed 24th February 1683, breaks off in the thirty-first bar. Colin Matthews has arranged this extant portion without making any alterations beyond prolonging selected notes to produce a bell-like effect, but in composing a further sixty bars to achieve a length comparable to that of the other fantasias he has not been bound by seventeenth century idiom. Purcell’s theme is still present – initially, in a continuation of the slow opening, only as the rhythm of its first three notes, then in its entirety in the quick section which follows – but that does not prevent the music reaching fortissimo climax. As if to apologise for the outburst, the piece ends soberly in the A minor of the opening.

The arrangement for clarinet, violin, cello & piano was first performed at Spadesbourne Hall, Bromsgrove, in October 1995 by the Composers Ensemble. It is dedicated to Barrie Gavin.

There is also an arrangement for string quartet.

Categories: Chamber

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27 April, 2021 - Seascapes (World Premiere)
Nash Ensemble
Wigmore Hall, London

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Useful Links

Faber Music
NMC Recordings
The Holst Foundation

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