The Fall of the Leaf
by Imogen Holst
- Instrumentation
- Cello
- Composed
- 1963
- Duration
- 9'
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
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About this piece
Imogen Holst described this 1963 work as 'three short studies for solo cello on a sixteenth-century tune', written for her old friend the cellist and pianist Pamela Hind O'Malley. The theme, 'The Fall of the Leaf' by Martin Peerson from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, is heard at the start and again, slower, at the end, at times over pizzicato broken chords that Holst wanted played like the lute of their friend Julian Bream. The three studies between - a gusty Vivace, a poignant Poco adagio that Britten admired, and a Presto of blowing leaves - give the piece an autumnal melancholy. Steven Isserlis's recording helped revive it.
Technical overview
Theme (Andante) with pizzicato broken-chord accompaniment under the melody, then three studies marked Vivace, Poco adagio and Presto, and a da capo of the theme at a slower tempo (Andante molto moderato); unaccompanied throughout.