This is the first of an ongoing series of concertos written for the New Titley Philharmonic Orchestra and its heroic musical director David Hatcher - a musician of infinite patience and suave elegance who is principally known as a virtuoso on the viola da gamba and baroque cello. Subtitled Humpty Dumpty's short fat concerto, Titley Concerto no. 1 (as the subtitle subtly hints) is a very short concerto grosso, and lasts not much more than five minutes; no-one in their right mind could accuse it of outstaying its welcome.

Scored for 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 solo violins, solo cello, harpsichord continuo and ripieno strings, it is in four short movements. The Ouverture is a solemn French affair; the Fughetta eroica is quick, and so short that it is over almost before it has got under way; the Aria is a cunning little vixen with pizzicato string accompaniment; the Double is a variation on the Aria, and features a dialogue between pairs of oboes and violins; and the finale, Humpty Dumpty's Jig(-saw) opens with our hero's famous contretemps with a Wall (also known as the Wall Street Crash) and turns into a brief fantasy on the much-loved nursery tune - which is quoted in full at the end. Titley Concerto no. 1 was written in 2022.

Giles Swayne 2025