Spitfire Prelude and Fugue

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Advertising for the film The First of Few in the US in 1943 under the title Spitfire published

Spitfire Prelude and Fugue is the title of an orchestral work by the English composer William Walton (1902-1983). It is an excerpt from the music for the 1942 English war film The First of the Few intended for the concert stage .

Occasion and content

William Walton had first experience composing film music in the 1930s, and during World War II the British government released him from military service on condition that he contribute the music to military propagandist films. In 1942 alone, four of these scores were created , including the one for the film The First of the Few , directed by Leslie Howard , who also played the lead role.

Shortly after the film premiere in late summer 1942, Walton set up parts of it for the concert stage under the title "Spitfire Prelude and Fugue". The Prelude accompanies the film opening credits in the form of a patriotic march based on similar works by Elgar , while the fugue is based on a sequence that shows the assembly of the first Supermarine Spitfire , with the contrapuntal interwoven lines representing the complex relationships between the mechanical components. After a lyrical violin solo intended for the exhausted, dying aircraft designer Mitchell , the march theme and fugue unite in the background of the completed aircraft going on a victorious mission.

World premiere and work details

Spitfire Prelude and Fugue premiered on January 2, 1943 at the Philharmonic Hall Liverpool with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer. The London premiere took place on February 21, 1943 at the Royal Albert Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and parts of the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Malcolm Sargent . The first recording was made by Walton himself in 1943, this time with the Hallé Orchestra .

The score provides for the following scoring : 2 flutes (2nd also piccolo ), 1 or 2 oboes , 2 clarinets , 1 or 2 bassoons , 4 horns , 3 trumpets , 3 trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion with snare drum , cymbal , bell , Harp and strings .

The performance lasts about eight minutes.

The autograph of the score is on file at Yale University. In 1961 a study score was published by Oxford University Press . There are also arrangements for organ , military band and brass band .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Publisher's information, Oxford University Press
  2. ↑ William Walton Trust

Web links