CHAMBER CONCERTO 'Portraits of Ned Kelly' (1998) for 11 instruments (Picc/Fl/Alto Fl, Ob/Cor Anglais, clarinet in Bb, in Eb and bass, bassoon, horn, harp, 2 Vln, Vla, Vcl, Cb)
Commissioned by the Brighton Festival for the Brunel Ensemble and first performed by them conducted by Christopher Austin in Brighton on May 16th 1998.
As with the cello work 'Images of a Mind', the starting point for this work was the work of Australian artist Sidney Nolan. In the 1986 work, a self-portrait was the inspiration; this time the composer draws on some of Nolan's earliest and most famous paintings, those of the 19th Century Australian bush ranger and bandit, Ned Kelly. In this varied and colourful score many aspects of the life and times of Kelly are portrayed as Williams imagines them, with references to his Irish ancestry.
All players have exposed and virtuosic writing; it is a real concerto for everyone. The final minutes are a soulful Irish lament, followed by two huge declamatory chords.
DURATION 19'
Eschig


Sidney Nolan's last self-portrait, in which he portrays himself as Ned Kelly, referring to his famous early paintings of Ned Kelly with black helmet.

View the SCORE

NB to do this you'll need 'SCORCH', the free plug-in from Sibelius Software. It's only 1mb and there's a link at the foot of the score.