Lento (Wilfred Heaton) arranged for brass band by Paul Hindmarsh

Description

Lento has been arranged for brass band and timpani from the slow movement of a Piano Sonata composed in the early 1950s. This 30-minute work was elaborated from Suite for Orchestra (1950).  In the early 1950s, without the prospect of a performance of the orchestral original, Heaton re-composed the Scherzo second movement and Rondo finale and replaced the original Prelude and Canzona with two contrapuntally and harmonically complex movements. Although he completed the sketch of this epic work, Heaton left aspects of it tantalisingly incomplete, including most of the dynamic markings and details of tempo, phrasing and articulation. The writing in Lento is the least pianistic of the sonata’s four movements, suggesting perhaps that it may have been originally intended for a different medium, or like the three movements that comprise Heaton’s only composition test piece, Contest Music, derived from a composition exercise. I have prepared versions of Lento for string orchestra and brass band (with timpani). In keeping with the original, the band version contrasts solo lines with fully textured and at times dramatic tutti scoring, hopefully respectful of Heaton’s symphonic approach to the brass band score. This edition was prepared for the sixth and final volume of the Wilfred Heaton Collection, produced by World of Sound to celebrate the centenary of the composer’s birth, 2 December 2018 [SP&S 417CD]. The arrangement is dedicated to the composer and fellow Heaton enthusiast Edward Gregson, at whose suggestion the movement has been arranged for both string orchestra and brass band.