Pyramid Consort Op. 73
Last updated: 28.01.22
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Composer: R. Orton Suppliers:    
Editor: Quintet S/D/A/T/B
Publisher: Unique Music Publication:
The composer, Dr. Richard Orton, sent me a copy of his Opus 73, Pyramid Consort for recorder quintet to be considered for use by Bremen Recorder Touring Company in June 2004.
It was written for the 90th birthday of Wilfrid Mellers and dated April 26, 2004. In his Email Dr. Orton wrote that the piece was difficult. After working through the piece however, I found that this was a monstrous understatement. It was not difficult but more rather diabolically so! However, intrigued, I spent some four weekends exploring the 211-bar 10½ minute score finding several pause errors particularly in the latter bars. Not being qualified in anyway to make a judgment or comment on its musical merits - I leave that to you dear surfer. Please, if you have the time, just listen to the *.midi file above and form your own opinion. Correspondence hereto is most welcome!
Well, I found that this opus would be far beyond the abilities of the Bremen Recorder Touring Company (possibly also any by other human recorder ensembles) but well playable by the Midi Ragtime Recorder Ensemble for whom I consequently sequenced the midi file above.
On learning of Dr. Orton's passing, I wondered whether his Opus 73 had ever been performed. A full Google Search resulted in a Googleblatt (a phrase that gives the search result 1-1 of 1 results) i.e. this very webpage! The Wikipedia link to Wilfrid Mellers states that the 2004 York Late Music Festival opened with a weekend tribute to Mellers. A 90th-birthday tribute concert was held in October 2004 at Downing College, featuring music by Mellers as well as new pieces written for the occasion by Stephen Dodgson, David Matthews and Howard Skempton, among others.
Was Opus 73 amongst the others? Does anybody know?
  Instruments Performer
     
  Midi File(s) 
audiomidi15.gif Midi Geoff Grainger