REV STEPHEN GAMBLE

A friend asked if I would play on my violin the theme from Dvorak's famous Largo (the one from the 2nd movement of the New World Symphony) at his funeral. I agreed, but that was some time ago and now I'm not at all sure I could actually do this. I am no performer, and illness means I don't practice playing the violin often, so I thought of a plan B. I said to myself, 'I could play the theme on my violin, but electronically generated' - and then I realised I could add orchestr

Rosedale is a valley in the North Yorkshire Moors; it is surrounded by moorland that rises up to over 1,300 feet. The River Severn flows down through the vale eventually to join the River Rye. The landscape of Rosedale is marked by the visible signs of history, both geological and human. Apart from centuries of farming Rosedale has a long history of glass manufacture and in the nineteenth century the valley became a centre for iron ore extraction. The remains of a railway, ro

Kathy and her husband kindly invited my wife and I to a Rutland Sinfonia concert at Oakham School Chapel. By way of a thank you I have written her this little waltz. It is 'English' rather than 'Viennese' in that the music is informed by English folk music. Pictured - Oakham School Chapel during the interval. The cello sound is electronically generated, but should any actual cellist wish to play this - I could send you the score.

Written in 2023, revised in 2026. The ground (the bass line) shifts, but runs throughout the piece. Andante - Allegro Pictured - on the way up to Bransdale on the NorthYorkMoors.

The music is a response to the landscape and people of Rutland, but also to my interior landscape. I moved here four years ago after a life changing illness, and four years later I am glad to still be standing. Having moved from England's largest county (Yorkshire) to England's smallest (Rutland), I am now am now due to go back, so perhaps the music is something of a reflection on my time here. Multum in Parvo: Allegro Nocturne, The Past in the Present: Adagio e mesto Finale:

Lovely Joan is a traditional English Folk Song. In the song a young man on a white horse tries to seduce pretty Joan by offering his gold ring in exchange for her favours. However, Joan is not just a pretty face, she accepts the ring, leaps onto his horse, and rides off - leaving the importunate man stranded in the meadows. As with many folk songs, there is a pastoral surface overlaying a darker themes. Is this a romance with a comic ending, or is the rich and powerful young

Prelude - Quasi Fugue - Quasi Chaconne. Is it possible to fall in love with a landscape? Does a landscape speak to you? Can you hear echoes of the voices from times long past of those who have lived there? From a theme written down, to working out the music in my head, to writing it out. I get quite a lot of time to 'work out the music in my head' as Chronic Fatigue means I have to spend time being quiet and still. Composed in 2024.

00.00 Preludio: Autumn Advances - Allegro 06.60 Autumn Falls: Andante con moto 09.52 A Moment of Repose: Adagio 14.07 Harvest Dances (quasi una chaconne): Allegro - Presto The first thought of this Sonata for strings came about as I was watching and listening to the counterpoint of tree branches moving, and autumn leaves falling, all caught up in the wind, with sunlight and cloud passing. This movement was written first and the other three then grew from it. 'The Moment of Re

A Jeremiad is a lament that alternates elegy and rage. After the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, who lamented the moral decay of his society, and angrily condemned it's corrupt rulers. Worked up from a sketch written in 2001. It got no further than a sketch as I didn't have the orchestral tools back then. I can't recall what I was so moved and agitated about, I'm normally very placid. Strings, Horns, Trumpets, Oboes, Flutes, Clarinets, Bassoons, Timpani.

Written between the 25th May & the 1st of June, while on holiday in the Yorkshire Dales. As Beethoven said of his Pastoral Symphony, this is..."More the expression of feeling than tone painting" It's how the landscape made me feel, or as near as I can get to that state of mind and heart. It was a summer evening, the light was fading, but still bright enough to see my way.

In the summer of 2011 I visited St Hedda’s Church at Egton Bridge and was very moved by the relics and story of Nicholas Postgate. He was a Roman Catholic Priest executed in 1679 for practising his calling at a time when Roman Catholic forms of worship were illegal. The fragile nature of the relics, a small cross, a lock of his hair and a worn wooden rosary, seemed to speak of the fragility of human life and endeavour. It brought to mind our Lord’s promise to St Paul’s in 2 C

The movements go, Preludio - Hornpipe - Sarabande - Finale. Pictured - Westerdale, NorthYorkMoors Electronically generated violin sound.

The Leyburn Shawl is a path that runs along the limestone escarpment just outside the North Yorkshire town of Leyburn. There’s an old story that Mary, Queen of Scots, escaping captivity in nearby Bolton Castle, dropped her shawl as she fled along the ridge pursued by soldiers on horseback guided by hounds. The music is not a retelling of the story, but it does perhaps have a feeling of the landscape and history of the place. It was originally written for solo violin, then orc

Sinfonia con Rammarico Doloroso - sinfonia with sorrowful regret. Originally a sonata for solo violin, written in 2009, but arranged for string orchestra in 2026. The movements are ... Preludio: Adagio - Presto -Andante e cantabile - Quasi improvisando - Presto con rabbia ( rabbia means rage) The score can be found at arrangeme.com ( once I have uploaded it)

Preludio: Adagio - Presto - Andante e cantabile - Presto Rammarico Doloroso - roughly translates as 'painful regret' The score will appear on ArrangeMe.Com Written in 2009

Sonata for Solo Violin No, in G - 'Sonata quasi una Fantasia', by Stephen Gamble. Composed in 1998 The music is tonal, and influenced by...

In 2022 I wrote a set of variations for string quartet on the National anthem to mark the Queen's Jubilee Celebrations. At that time I...

Eine Kliene Sonatensatz, By Stephen Gamble Bagatelle in C major, for Solo Violin Ideally this little sonata movement should have been...

Of course this is not Scottish it's just me dressed up as an Scotsman. By way of apology I can say it's a tribute to all the wonderful...

Of course this is not Irish it's just me dressed up as an Irishman. A tribute to all the wonderful Irish music I have played. This was...