Ronald Stevenson

Programme Note

The Peter Grimes fantasy, based on themes from Britten's opera, was commissioned by BBC TV in 1971 and first performed by the composer in the BBC2 programme 'Music Now'. The Fantasy embodies the essential idea of the opera: the rise of the mob and the fall of Grimes. The rise of the mob is conveyed through a malicious, muttering theme which begins in the bass and gradually rises as the work progresses. The fall of Grimes is expressed through phrases of pathos which begin in the treble and gradually fall during the course of the composition. In the central development there is a thematic confrontation, embedded in the 'storm music' from the opera. The form of the piece is that of fantasy-fugue preceded by a brief introduction and followed by a recitative-like cadenza and an epilogue.