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Work


Rites of Passage

for bassoon and string quintet

Year:  2006   ·  Duration:  12m
Instrumentation:  bassoon, violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello, and double bass

Year:  2006
Duration:  12m
Instrumentation  bassoon, violin 1, violin 2...

Composer:   Anthony Ritchie

Films, Audio & Samples

Sample Audio

Sample: 0'00" - 1'00"

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Sample Score

Sample: pages 1 - 4

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Borrow/Hire:

To borrow items or hire parts please email SOUNZ directly at info@sounz.org.nz.

About

The piece is a relatively light-hearted reflection on the journey from birth through childhood to adolescence. It opens with birth-pains and a reference to Stravinsky's famous ballet, The Rite of Spring. This reference is a source of ideas for melodies and motifs that follow, filtered through the use of a magic square.

The main theme of the first section is a quirky 12-note idea on the violin, followed by a more driving theme. A passage of plucked notes leads to another 12-note theme on bassoon. These themes are developed, and build into a wild dance, one of two dance-like passages in the work that owe a debt to Transylvanian folk music. They symbolize the life force that is only too apparent in young children. The frisky, playful first section gives way to a short bassoon solo, leading to a slow middle section, marked 'mesto' or sad. A simple idea on the strings reflects a sense of loneliness, reinforced by bassoon melody that follows. A short double bass solo near the end is rudely interrupted by the opening of the third section, and a brief introduction leads to a lively 12-note theme on the violins. This toccata-like section is highly energetic in character, and includes a long-range accelerando in the dance passage. When the main theme returns it is abridged and channeled into a short, changeable coda.


Commissioned note

Commissioned by Chamber Music New Zealand and composed for the group Divertissiment for their New Zealand tour in 2006


Dedication note

to Divertissiment


Contents note

one movement in three sections: vigoroso; mesto; allegro molto


Performance history

26 May 2006: Performed by Divertissment at Invercargill

07 Aug 2008: Recorded by Divertissiment - Preman Tilson (bassoon), Donald Armstrong (violin), Rebecca Struthers (violin), Andrew Thomson (viola), Rowan Prior (cello) and Hiroshi Ikematsu (double bass) at Expressions Theatre in Upper Hutt

21 Jun 2010: ACO: Anthony Ritchie Portrait

Performed by Divertissement in Wellington

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