Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Malcolm Williamson Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson, (21 November 19312 March 2003) was an Australian composer. He was the Master of the Queen's Music from 1975 until his death. Biography Williamson was born in Sydney in 1931; his father was an A ...

wrote his Symphony No. 7 in 1984 to a joint commission from the Chamber Youth Strings of Melbourne and the

State of Victoria Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state i ...

. It was written mostly at the composer's home in Sandon, Hertfordshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History of the Work

Williamson was commissioned to write his Seventh Symphony by Dr Alexandra E. Cameron in 1984 on behalf of the Chamber Youth Strings of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The piece originally had a dual purpose: to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the

, and to give the youth orchestra a showpiece to take on a European tour in 1985. Williamson enjoyed long and fruitful relationships with youth orchestras and other organisations throughout his long career, and also wrote his Symphony No. 5 ''Aquerò'', the Little Mass of St. Bernadette and the ballet Heritage for young players, singers and dancers respectively. The score is dedicated to the memory of a long-time friend of Williamson's who died a year after the work's composition, Dr. Derek Goldfoot, husband of soprano Sybil Michelow (a staunch advocate of Williamson's vocal music). The first performance of the symphony was planned for 10 January 1985 at

Australia House The High Commission of Australia in London is the diplomatic mission of Australia in the United Kingdom. It is located in Australia House, a Grade II listed building. It was Australia's first diplomatic mission and is the longest continuously ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, but in the event only three of the four movements were played (the scherzo was omitted). This was due to the challenging nature of the music, which meant it was not possible for the youth orchestra to rehearse all the movements sufficiently in time. The first complete performance of the symphony was given by the Chamber Youth Strings of Melbourne in the Irving Hall of the Lauriston Girls' School,

, on 12 August 1985.

Notes on the Symphony

Since part of the commission for the Symphony No. 7 was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of The State of Victoria, Williamson decided to take Australian landscape and culture as the basis of his symphony, not unlike the Symphony No. 6 of 1982. Although each movement has a separate impetus behind it, the whole work is unified by the idea of (in the composer's words) "the unforeseen cross-pollination of ethnic groups that has enriched Australian life". This "cross-pollination" is represented by a portrait of the

Kelly Gang Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a armour of the Kelly gang, suit of bulletproof armour dur ...

in the first movement (illuminating the strong

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

connection), Macedonian dances in the

scherzo A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often re ...

(highlighting the thriving Macedonian community of

), and further

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

n references in the finale. A celebration of the vivid landscape of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

is most overt in the introverted third movement, an eight-minute lament of great poise capturing the majesty of the Dandenongs and

Wilsons Promontory Wilsons Promontory, is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland, located in the state of Victoria. South Point at is the southernmost tip of Wilsons Promontory and hence of mainland Australia. Located at nea ...

Structure

The symphony is broken up into four clearly defined

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

, as follows: *''I.'' ''Andante - Allegro vivo - Andante'' *''II.'' ''Allegro molto'' *''III.'' ''Andante'' *''IV.'' ''Allegro maestoso ma non troppo''

Orchestration

Williamson's Seventh Symphony requires the least resources of all his symphonies. Unlike the massive

orchestral 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, ...

Sixth Symphony ''Liturgy of Homage'' (1982) or the choral-

Third Symphony ''The Icy Mirror'' of 1973, the Seventh Symphony is scored for string orchestra only (consisting of violins, violas, celli and

double basses The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Simila ...

). This gives the work its unique sense of

chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations * Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics * Debate chamber, the space or room that houses delib ...

-like intimacy.SIGCD053

Recordings

*SIGNUM CLASSICS: Brunel Ensemble, conducted by

Christopher Austin Christopher Austin (born 14 November 1968) is a British conductor, and an arranger and orchestrator of film and television scores. Austin originally intended to become a composer. He studied at the University of Bristol with Adrian Beaumont ...

References

{{Malcolm Williamson Compositions by Malcolm Williamson 1984 compositions Williamson 7 Williamson 7