Zephyrus ... reviewed

EXTRACT from William Marshall's review of the performance of THE HALFE HANNIKIN VARIATIONS at The Bagpipe Society's summer meeting in June 1998 (The Blowout):

There is no doubt that the premiere of Jon Swayne's remarkable "Half Hannikin Variations" at the Saturday evening concert in Great Linford Church, was the high point of the Blowout. And there is no doubt that it is a highly sophisticated piece of music. But it is also a very witty one, and performed with almost showbiz-like panache by the group assembled by Jon.

Jon had assembled five of the finest English pipers on the scene, most of them noted for mastery of his border instrument, established as the contemporary English bagpipe. Judy Rockliff, Anne-Marie Summers and Lawrence Morgan-Anstee played G border pipes; Dave Faulkner and Chris Walshaw played the low C instrument and Jon Swayne himself played a newly-developed set of high C pipes. The percussionist was Terry Mann.

The result was a full, rich ensemble that offered the maximum of harmonic possibilities. And those possibilities were exploited to the utmost in a nine-movement work which displayed a level of musical creativity and artistic sophistication that would not have disgraced, say, Britten, Rubbra, Holst, Vaughan Williams or some other 20th Century English composer, had he decided to compose for bagpipe ensemble.

The title may have led one to expect pseudo-17th century doodlings over the well-known and amiable Playford tune. In fact the composition uses its source material as the starting point for excursions into a wide range of time signatures, rhythms, modes, moods and melodies. In this it is rather like a "cantus firmus" composition by a Renaissance composer who would use a simple tune as his starting point but buries it under layers of polyphonic ingenuity.

The "Half Hannikin" tune surfaces occasionally, especially in the Theme and Finale, but for most of the composition it remains hidden, although providing harmonic foundations for movements with titles such as as "Slow Five", "Dark Seven" and "Wodgy", together with the more explanatory "Bourrée", "Polka" and "Slowish Waltz".

When you consider that the composer of this piece also developed and made the instruments on which it was performed, then "The Half Hannikin Variations" is one of the most remarkable musical achievments of the Year.

The players assembled by Jon also deserve high praise. They performed a long and difficult work from memory and without very many rehearsals (percussionist Terry Mann was a late substitute, in fact). They not only had notes to play that would have defeated most of us but also had to remember and execute the choreography which was a central part of the performance.

Maintained by Chris Walshaw ()