John McCabe

Nocturnal Op. 42

John McCabe's Nocturnal For Piano Quintet was composed in 1966, commissioned by the Park Lane Group, London, and first performed by the Lancaster University Ensemble.

Duration: Approximately 13minutes.

Composers Note:

The title of this work is a reference to John Donne's poem A Nocturnal upon St Lucie's Day, the mood of which is reflected in the quintet. It falls into several movements, playedwithout a break: Introduction (Andante), setting forth the main thematic ideas of the music; Nocturne 1 (Allegro vivo), an agitated, virtuoso, scherzo-like section; a tripartite central part of the work consisting of twoCadenzasframing a brief Interlude, the first Cadenza being largely for strings, the second mainly for piano, and the Interlude harking back to the feeling of the Introduction; Nocturne 2 (Andante molto), a slow piece graduallybuilding to a unison theme on strings accompanied by a tolling piano background. This dies down to lead to an Epilogue, ending with a final reference to the work's opening bars.