Suite Concertante

SUITE CONCERTANTE was originally written for an orchestra of eight celli and double bass, and the work was premiered on April 19th, 1970 in this form.  Some years later, Alfred Reed re-scored the second movement of this five-movement work for string orchestra and harp, and this version was premiered in 1976 with Dr. Lucas Drew conducting the Bicentennial Chamber Orchestra of Miami.  Then, in 1981, Lucas Drew, now president of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), revisited the work, suggesting to Alfred Reed that he re-score the remaining four movements also for string orchestra, though the harp is omitted for those movements.  It is this work for string orchestra, with harp included in the 2nd movement, that is available here from the publisher.  The music consists of five individual movements of widely varying character, with no special thematic interconnections between them other than the fact that the fourth movement, "Chorale," was designed to lead directly into the fifth, and, in its closing measures, foreshadows the main theme of the movement to come.  Movements: I. Prelude and Fugue, II. Siciliana Notturno, III. Scherzando Espagnole, IV. Chorale, V. Toccata La Rocca.