''Portsmouth Point'' is an

overture Overture (from French language, French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Be ...

for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

by the English composer

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

, composed in 1925. The work was inspired by Rowlandson's print depicting

Portsmouth Point Portsmouth Point, or "Spice Island", is part of Old Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Hampshire, on the southern coast of England. The name Spice Island comes from the area's seedy reputation, as it was known as the "Spice of Life". Men were easily foun ...

. Walton recalled that the main musical had come into his mind whilst riding on a route 22 bus in London.Kennedy, Michael, ''Portrait of Walton''. Oxford University Press, 1989 (). Walton dedicated the score to the poet

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...

, who had recommended that Oxford University Press publish the score.Lloyd, Stephen, ''William Walton: Muse of Fire''. Boydell Press, 2001 (). The score was first published in piano-duet form in 1925. The full orchestral score was published in 1928. The overture was selected for performance at the 1926 International Society for Contemporary Music festival, and received its first performance in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Z ...

on 22 June 1926, conducted by

Volkmar Andreae Volkmar Andreae (5 July 1879 – 18 June 1962) was a Swiss conductor and composer. Life and career Andreae was born in Bern. He received piano instruction as a child and his first lessons in composition with Karl Munzinger. From 1897 to 1900, ...

. The first London performance was on 28 June 1926, with Eugene Goossens conducting the overture as an interval work in the midst of a Diaghilev ballet performance. Walton himself conducted the overture at

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

in 1927.

Constant Lambert Leonard Constant Lambert (23 August 190521 August 1951) was a British composer, conductor, and author. He was the founder and music director of the Royal Ballet, and (alongside Ninette de Valois and Frederick Ashton) he was a major figure in th ...

later prepared a version of the overture, with a reduced orchestration, from Walton's original, and also with simplified time signatures. Lambert first conducted this version in 1932. ''Portsmouth Point'' depicts in musical form the rumbustious life of British 18th century sailors. Commentators have noted the influence of

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

's music and of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

in the rhythms of the score, as well as the rhythm of the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

''sardana'' dance. In 1953, Walton briefly quoted this work in his contribution to the collaborative work ''

Variations on an Elizabethan Theme ''Variations on an Elizabethan Theme'' (also seen as ''Variations on Sellinger's Round'') is a set of variations for string orchestra, written collaboratively in 1952 by six English composers: Lennox Berkeley, Benjamin Britten, Arthur Oldham, ...

''.

References

External links

Williamwalton.net page on ''Portsmouth Point''
Concert overtures Compositions by William Walton 1925 compositions {{Classical-composition-stub