Fanfare for the National (704.Pk.Perc.)

Fanfare for the National (704.Pk.Perc.) The long-awaited creation of a national theatre of Great Britain finally became a reality on 22 October 1963 when a company, under the artistic direction of Walton’s great friend Sir Laurence Olivier, made its debut with an uncut staging of Hamlet at the much-loved Old Vic Theatre. A purpose-built complex of three auditoriums had been planned for the South Bank of the Thames since 1960, but escalating costs and other delays meant that the National Theatre was opened in phases. Between the opening of the first two auditoriums London Weekend Television made a programme entitled ‘Your National Theatre’, produced by Derek Bailey, which celebrated the company’s move to the South Bank. It was transmitted on 21 August 1976. The fanfare that Walton was commissioned to provide for this TV programme, a brisk 34-bar piece, is structured in simple ABA form. Walton’s fingerprint thirds again provide the harmonic motivation. The urgent semiquaver figures of the opening (the A section) contrast with the prescribed espressivo legato cantabile mood of section B. From bar 25 the semiquavers revive the energy to the close. The present edition is the fanfare’s first publication. Instrumentation: E-flat Tpt., 6 B-flat Tpt., 3 Ten. Tbn., B. Tbn., Timp., Perc.