Four Fancies, for flute and strings
Prelude (Andante)
Gavotte (Grazioso)
Incantation (Largo)
Folk Dance (Allegro ma non troppo).
The composer, conductor and arranger Gordon Jacob played a distinguished role in British musical life for nearly three-quarters of the twentieth century, composing over 700 works between 1922 and his death at the age of 89. He corresponded with Vaughan-Williams, taught at the Royal College of Music, and was never far from any major occasion in British music – his orchestration of the National Anthem was used in the 1953 Coronation Ceremony. Few of his major works, with the modest exceptions of his bassoon and trombone concertos, have entered the repertoire, but his wonderfully idiomatic orchestrations of works such as Elgar’s Organ Sonata and Holst’s Suite in E flat are still performed. Moreover, the astonishing variety of his shorter works for every imaginable chamber combination means that, whenever, for example, tuba quartets, viola octets, or piccolo, flute and bass flute trios are looking for repertoire, Jacob’s music is guaranteed an airing.
The sheer quantity and variety of Jacob’s output has made it difficult to date many of his smaller works, and the precise date of these Four Fancies is unknown. June Emerson, who published much of Jacob’s wind music after 1972, believes that may have been written around 1976, although the manuscript gives no indication. Whatever their provenance, these four miniatures have all the qualities that distinguish the whole of Jacob’s output – fresh, tuneful, and written with absolute understanding of the colours and characteristics of the four instruments. They’re what Vaughan-Williams would have called "household music" – pieces of elegant and practical musical craftsmanship, designed to do no more than give pleasure to listener and performer alike.
R.G.Bratby, 2000
Copyright Classical Notes.co.uk 2000
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