Surrey Mozart Players
Annmarie McDade (leader)
Sarah Williamson (clarinet)
Philip Ellis (conductor)
Cecilia McDowall Rain, Steam and Speed
Concerto for clarinet and orchestra in A K 622 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Cecilia McDowall’s ‘Rain, Steam and Speed’ written in 2006 was inspired by Turner’s painting of the same name and is an atmospheric and symphonic journey along the Great Western Railway. In her own words, from her website, Cecilia explains: “…. rather than follow a programmatic development of the title I have tried to convey a feeling of wide open spaces and pastoral repose in the opening section. Even the hare (a pair of clarinets) makes a playful appearance. In Turner’s painting the “iron horse” emerges from the distance, pressing powerfully forwards and so, from out of the calm, a clear rhythmic motif, pianissimo at first, rattles to a full orchestral crescendo, then gradually disappears from view.”