Fit for a King - Variation 5

Instrumentation

Wind Quintet [Fl, Ob, Cl, Fg, Hn]

Other Information

This variation on the famous Welsh melody Sosban Fach was written in celebration of the birth of HRH Prince George of Cambridge, 22nd July 2013, and is respectfully dedicated to HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales; HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and HRH Prince George of Cambridge.

When the Duchess of Cambridge’s pregnancy was announced, the Chairman of the Central Composers’ Alliance, David Fisher, resolved to bridge the royal generations by inviting his colleagues in the Alliance contribute to a joint work on a famous Welsh theme to acknowledge the lineage of the Princes of Wales from Dafydd ap Llywelyn to HRH Prince Charles. As this heredity will continue to HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and then HRH Prince George of Cambridge, this work is therefore respectfully dedicated to all three generations.

The melody of Sosban Fach was chosen by David Fisher as one of the most famous of all Welsh tunes. It hasn’t been chosen for its subject matter, though it is originally a nursery song, but for the popularity in the Principality as one of the most often sung songs in the Welsh language. It is best known for its association with Llanelli Rugby Union Club and by internationally renowned performers such as Only Boys Aloud. Robert Ramskill arranged the theme before the composers’ contributions were collected over several months. Dr Ramskill was also entrusted to the difficult task of editing and ordering the pieces for publication.

The whole story of the Fit for a King and the accompanying videos may be accessed by clicking HERE. Variation 5 of´Sosban Fach´ is described by the composer thus:

Variation 5 - Martin Watson:

"When I read Sosban Fach, I thought that the Welsh folk-writer excellently presents the credible difficulties of juggling domestic life in an initially light-hearted way: a mother can´t cope because her servant is ill. The baby cries, the mother cuts her finger, and consequently the daft unwatched saucepans repeatedly boil over. Meanwhile the cat scratches another child. As the song moves on it takes on a deeper meaning as regrets about time passing are revealed: the baby grows up, the mother older, and the sick servant dies. The children playing at soldiers become adult soldiers marching off to war; and puss is no more. Using the song´s melody as a basis, I converted the images from text into sympathetic sonorities. These were then woven into the music to create a sensitive sound-picture. This variation therefore opens observing the excitement of the domestic scene as the mother dashes about solving one problem after another. The music then moves on to reflections on the past. The last two bars of the folk-melody are extended into a coda expressing the mother´s concerns for the present, uncertainties of and hopes for the future."

The photographs below are:

[Left] Serenata Winds in the process of recording Fit for a King on July 22nd 2013 at the Ellen Terry Building of the University of Coventry on the very day that HRH Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge was born.

[Right] Serenata Winds performing the world première of Fit for a King at the splendid venue of The Ark, St Laurence Church, Alvechurch, Worcestershire on the evening of 5th April 2014.