Revêrie

‘Revêrie’ was written for a student of mine for passing her Grade IV flute. The piece is in ternary form and romantic in style with a dreamy atmosphere in accordance with the title. The flute part is easily of Grade VI standard and the piano part requires a more advanced technique. Revêrie was premiered at the Voices Anon Christmas Concert (8/12/05), following it with a second performance in the school Christmas concert (12/12/05). The performance from the school concert is featured here on this page.

The piece has proved highly successful on the internet and is also one of my favourite pieces I have written.

The piece was orchestrated for Flute & Orchestra on 2/5/06. Click here for more details.

Please click here to view the score on my Sibelius Site. If you wish to purchase the score, please email me for a price list. Upon receipt of the fee, a PDF of the score and parts will be emailed to the purchaser.

Composition of ‘Revêrie’
Work began on the piece over the summer of 2005. I came up with an idea on the 21/8/05 and scribbled it down but decided it wasn’t right – too orchestral in concept. A few days later (24/8/05) I decided to make a proper start on the piece. I must have been really inspired because the whole piece was written in one sitting between 11am and 6pm – a speed I hadn't achieved in a long while. Likewise, the piece seemed to flow – I composed it in the order that it is played – very unusual for me! There were no significant changes at all from the manuscript to the final draft.

Recent Performances:
-(8/12/05) Maidenhead, UK. Premiere performance. At the Voices Anon Christmas Concert.
-(12/12/05) Maidenhead, UK. Performed at Furze Platt Senior School's Christmas Concert.

Analysis:

The piece is in ternary form with the following structure:

Introduction (1-8):
The piano begins in a high register introducing the main theme. The harmony employs extended chords (Gmaj7, D7/G x2, Em, Em-maj7, Em7, A7/E, Gsus2, Dsus2,4, Dsus2) evoking a dreamy atmosphere. The flute enters at the end of the introduction mimicking the piano.

‘A’ Section (9-41):
The main theme is played by the flute (9-16) with the piano accompanying. The theme is then repeated by the piano (17-24) with a flute countermelody. The melody begins the same but changes direction at 20 with harmonic movement towards the subdominant. The triplet countermelody used in this section was put in as a request mirroring similar figuration found in my ‘Paris Prelude.’ A four-bar link follows (25-28) using the main melody over a dominant pedal. The piano begins the main theme again (29) using a cross-rhythm accompaniment (triplets against quavers) that paves the way for the next direction change occurring in 33. Through bars 33-36 the previous triplet accompaniment in the piano continues over a circle of 5ths chord progression. The melodic idea of this section (33-26) is a development of bar 13. A Phrygian cadence marks the end of section ‘A’.

‘B’ Section (42-59):
After the rising scale, the mode changes to the relative minor (Em). Bar 42-45 introduce a scherzando style them in the flute over pulsing chords that descend through the 7ths of Em over a tonic pedal. This is followed by a passing modulation through F major, Bb major, G minor, and Eb (46-54). Bars 54-59 modulate back towards G major ready for the reprise of ‘A’. During this section the piano play a phrase developed from the motifs of the main theme of ‘A’ (see 54), whilst the flute plays rising scales to increase the tension.

‘A’ Section (60-79):
The ‘A’ theme is reprised but with slight modification and changes of direction that were predicted in the original ‘A.’ The triplet counter melody of 68-75 is varied to create more excitement.

Coda (79-97):
The coda opens with the flute quoting a motif similar to the first notes it played at the beginning. The opening texture returns with a similar harmonic progression. The piece closes with the flute rising up to the tonic (84-87).

An extract from the original manuscript