Clive Strutt

This piece was written in 1993 for the multi-talented musician, Derek Bell. Mr. Bell, as well as being the harpist for the celebrated Irish group, The Chieftains, is an expert on all the harps, pedal and Celtic, and all the oboe family of instruments (see separate composer biography under Derek Bell's compositions).

The theme, "Protiazhnahyah", is a Russian 'continuous-song" from Pramzeenah, Simbirsk, and is taken from an old book discovered by Clive Strutt in a second-hand book shop in Oxford. This book, "Byzantine Music", by S. Hatherley, was published in 1892.

The melody is an example of the Continuous-song so popular amongst the Russian peasantry. Various stanzas (there would have been eighteen in the original) are joined by a small codetta at the close of the theme, and omitted at the last stanza when no longer needed.

There are some passages in the Variations where the lowest voice is that of the bass oboe,the piano part being entirely above it. In the bassoon version, the opportunity has been taken to write the bassoon part an octave below that of the bass oboe in places and has been thus devised to better suit the instrument accordingly.

Clive Strutt
1999

Amoris scores are exclusively available in traditional bound format with global postal distribution and secure payment from Crowther's of Canterbury. Our full downloadable library is being prepared.