10109 2 Pieces from Henry V

Passacaglia Death of Falstaff
Touch her Soft Lips and Part

William Walton (1902-1983)

arranged Roger Harvey for 10-piece Brass Ensemble

Difficulty: Medium

Price: £25.00

Programme notes:
During the Second World War Walton was exempted from National Service in order for him to write patriotic music for films. One of the most successful was Laurence Olivier's Henry V. Walton was reluctant to allow the music to be transformed into concert suites, reckoning that it had been written for a precise purpose and would be of no value on its own. He made an exception in a couiple of cases and the suite of music from Henry V from which these 2 pieces come is now a concert favourite.
The first, a passacaglia, accompanies Falstaff's death and the second is used in the scene in which soldiers, embarking for France, bid their loved ones farewell.

Performance notes:
Both pieces require very gentle controlled playing but also a sense of line and expressive resonance.
The dynamics and hairpins suggest phrasing rather than any obvious nuances.