DIVERTIMENTO for 20 violas by Eddie McGuire

DIVERTIMENTO
In composing for 20 distinct viola 'voices' I was pleasantly surprised at the satisfying and harmonically-complete sound world that emerged. The music opens in realism - with distinctive theme notes sweeping stereophonically around the ensemble - in stage performances, the 20 or more violists face the audience in a big semi-circle. The music soon dissolves into a dream-like sequence of textures, often featuring harmonics and glissandos. Eventually, a crescendo leads back to the strong regular rhythms of the opening theme. It was commissioned in 1977 for the Scottish Viola International summer school by James Durrant MBE who conducted the premiere. He revived it for the 1994 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition. That year he included it on his CD album 'Viola Pieces' - playing all 20 parts himself - and that is the version presented here.
~ NOTE by Edward McGuire March 2021