Six Songs without Words – Set Nine

Set Nine, completed during the first week of April 2019, contains the following songs:

Song no.1 in C major – Allegro moderato (listen using the SoundCloud link below)

Song no.2 in A minor – Allegro scherzando (listen using the SoundCloud link below)

Song no.3 in A♭ major – Andantino (listen using the SoundCloud link below)

Song no. 4 in E major – Moderato (Listen using the link below)

Song no. 5 in C♯ minor – Rondino. Allegro moderato (Listen using the link below)

Song no. 6 in C major – Poco andante (Listen using the link below)

The first piece has a Handelian starting point though the cross-rhythms are soon Latin (and not in the way that Handel would have understood at the time). The middle section, whilst maintaining the momentum, has a more lyrical feel. Number Two is a flighty scherzo with a more tranquil episode in the middle. The third piece is also ternary, though here the opening section is pastoral and peaceful and the middle section is stormy and dark. Piece four is quite extensive but generally warm and cantabile in feel. The rondino Number Five is quite skittish but also has a few moments of quasi-Baroque counterpoint. The final piece of the set starts in leisurely pastoral vein but then becomes playful with a gigue-like idea which provides two episodes.