FANFARES FOR TRISTAN opus 49 (symphonic suite) 

The legend of Tristan and Isolde has fascinated writers, painters and composers, and more recently film makers. I came to know Wagner’s version of the story, with its sensuous chromaticism and hypnotic nocturnal atmosphere, during the late 1960s. A reconsideration of the opera led me to pay this 2011 musical tribute to the warrior-hero, Tristan of Bretagne, in which elements from different versions of the Tristan story are freely interwoven. A strong sense of rhythm pervades ‘Fanfares for Tristan’, which suggests my version of the story may not be set in Brittany but instead further afield.

‘Fanfares for Tristan’ could be seen as reminiscences passing through a dying mind. Tristan is a brave heroic leader of men who also has a restrained courtly side. His love for Isolde is passionate and intense as well as fatally flawed. The forest, to which early versions of the legend say the lovers fled, is filled with ruined castles, mists and nightmarish figures, along with the calls of nocturnal creatures. Tristan’s feverish state of mind as, mortally wounded, he awaits the arrival of Isolde, adds urgency to the final section of the symphonic suite. As he dies the surge of a freed spirit is suggested. 

This Fantasy-Portrait (14’45’’) consists of an exposition, scherzino, romance (idyll), dramatic interlude and recapitulation with coda. Each section has a descriptive subtitle:

Portrait of a Warrior-Hero

Carnival Pranks with Comeuppance

Idealised Reverie

Fatal Liaison

Recollection, Death, Transfiguration