Scarborough Variations
for cello and piano (2008)
duration: 6’
GRT • 138
score
available soon from
Australian Music
Centre
program note
King Henry III of
England established a fair at Scarborough in the 13th
century. It was held in the town for over 500 years but is
now mainly remembered in the famous folk song:
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Remember me to one who lived there,
She once was a true love of mine.
The song exists in many differing versions. I have used the
common one that I grew up with and while the tune is overt
at times, the form is relatively free, somewhat akin to a
fantasia. The piece was commissioned by Joe Hoffmann to
celebrate 40 years of marriage to his wife Rosemary – a
cellist for whom the piece was written.