Pianocolours
3 Bagatelles.

1.
Reviewer: Charles Oldenkamp.

The opening Bagatelle in the series is a very lively and high-spirited dance-like piece in a modernistic G major which starts and ends with a rising 4th giving a shapely pattern to the melody.

The syncopation created in the second restatement of the theme highlights the good-humoured nature of this miniature. The middle section of the piece is a type of game, playing between major and minor in rapid succession.

2.
Reviewer: Charles Oldenkamp.

The middle Bagatelle has a haunting melody reminiscent of Scandinavian music. The harmonies used are clearly of modern derivation and a colourful landscape is created by extended tertian sonorities.

The central section has delicate semiquavers in the right hand and unusually, just one bar of 7/8 seems to balance the rhythm of the composition which is otherwise in 6/8 throughout.

3.
Reviewer: Charles Oldenkamp.

The final piece in this series of lighter classical compositions is a frenetic whirl of activity. An Allegro molto movement which uses a variety of techniques including traditional, pentatonic, and quintal elements.

The pace of the music, characterized by fleeting modulations, is such that it is never easy to pinpoint the key, although there is certainly a resounding ending in B flat major.


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