Abstract
The distinguished British composer, William Walton wrote his first work involving the guitar in 1960. This is the song cycle Anon. in Love, composed for tenor Peter Pears and guitarist Julian. He wrote his only solo guitar work in 1971, Five Bagatelles, which he dedicated to the composer Malcolm Arnold, and was premiered by Bream in the same year. Walton admitted that he had never thought of writing for the guitar but was encouraged to do so by Julian Bream. This work was written hand-in-hand between Bream and Walton in Ischia, Italy, in which Bream even provided a chart which would explain what the guitar could do to assist Walton in his composing. There is also evidence to suggest Arnold might have helped Walton in composing this work. I present here an analysis of Waltonʼs guitar writing, which was carried out through study and comparison with Anon. in Love (1959), Capriccio Burlesco (1968), Scapino: A Comedy Overture (1940), and his two symphonies. I also compared the Five Bagatelles and Varii Capricci (1976) to understand Waltonʼs original intentions. Through correspondence with Michael Donley, the scholar who wrote in detail about this work in Classical Guitar Magazine back in 1990, and worked closely in person with Bream, the evolving nature of this composition, and some interesting facts are now unmasked.
Recommended Citation
Kam, K. (2023). William Walton: The evolution of the Five Bagatelles. In R. Torres, A. Brandon, & J. Noble (Eds.), Proceedings of The 21st Century Guitar Conference 2019 & 2021 (pp. 216-242). https://digitalcommons.du.edu/twentyfirst-century-guitar/vol1/iss1/15