Variations (and Fantasias) on a theme are great
Some of my favourite pieces of music are variations (or variants) on a theme. Unlike a pop cover version, these aren’t just a different arrangement of the same song, but rather the composer takes a snippet of music, often by someone else and go off in all sorts of directions. My personal favourite is the Ralph Vaughan Williams piece
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
(it’s a fantasia because it’s a looser continuous form referencing the original, rather than a set of separate variations, but in essence it's the same kind of thing). The original is a rather staid (though beautiful) hymn tune, but Vaughan Williams takes it to amazing new heights.I was therefore rather disappointed listening to composer Debbie Wiseman talking about her Paralympic homecoming piece I'm Walking with You (played beautifully by a blind pianist called Lucy - I don't think she's called 'Lucy the pianist' as the image seems to suggest, I think she featured in a TV show called The Pianist).
I may have missed it, but I heard no mention of the fact that Wiseman's piece is a variation (or fantasia) on a theme by Handel. It was just referred to as a ‘song’ by the composer. On her website, all it says is 'Debbie Wiseman has composed a new piece.'
I don’t claim any originality in this observation. I can’t imagine that anyone who knows Handel’s Sarabande wouldn’t spot the relationship. It just seemed a pity that this doesn’t appear in the title and wasn’t a point discussed with the radio programme’s presenter.
To give an appropriate comparison, as Wiseman's piece is primarily on piano, here's a piano version of the Sarabande (I suggest listening to the first 20 seconds or so then switching to the other for immediate comparison):
And here's Wiseman's piece:
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Published on September 17, 2024 02:26
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