Variations

About

Variations (2019) is written differently to the usual formula of pieces of that title, in that the Theme does not appear until the very end of the piece. The Theme in question is a Pavane from the Orchésographie by 'Thoinot Arbeau' (Jehan Tabourot, 1519 - 1595). This ardent love song, 'Belle qui tiens ma vie', is well-known even today, but the meaning of the words is not the focus of the Variations. Instead, the four-part harmony is deconstructed in various ways to provide material which is, at times, unrecognisable in its relation to the original. The original percussion line - an integral Pavane component - is another facet of variation within the work.

The sections within the work - variations and theme transformations named in the score - run as follows:

'Fanfare sur des Accords Thématiques' - Fanfare on Thematic Chords
'Thème Inversé Caché' - Hidden Inverted Theme
'Thème Inversé' - Inverted Theme
'Thème Secret' - Secret Theme
'Thème Négatif (noir et blanc)' - Negative Theme (black and white)
'Thème Manquant (avec variation précédent)' - Theme Missing (with previous variation)
'Le Retour de la Fanfare' - The Fanfare Returns
'Thème Déconstruit' - Deconstructed Theme
'Variation en Cycles' - Variation in Cycles
'Variation sur la Pédale' - Variation Over Pedal
'Et Enfin...' - And Finally...
'Le Thème' - The Theme