for cello and piano (2008)
Spotify
CD available
800 Million Heartbeats
Ashley Brown, Sarah Watkins
ABC Classics
score available from
Wise Music
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. The premiere recording of the work was made by Ashley Brown and Sarah Watkins (NZTrio) on the album 800 Million Heartbeats (ABC Classics, 2013).
review
“Scarborough Variations are based on an English folk-tune we know well, probably due to Simon & Garfunkel. We get snatches of the tune in what Percy Grainger might have called a ‘ramble’, and an absorbing ramble it is, in the company of cello and piano. Only towards the end is the whole tune revealed.”
Gwen Bennett, The Music Trust, December 2015