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I am delighted to introduce to you the website of William Walton Trust. As international appreciation continues to grow for one of the great men of British music we hope that this site will prove interesting and informative both to those who are looking for general information and to those seeking specialist help.

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The William Walton Trust and the Fondazione William Walton e La Mortella have the following general objectives:

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You do not know Giardini la Mortella?

Visit the site of the spectacular subtropical and mediterranean garden developed since 1956 by the late Susana Walton.

Giardini la Mortella

The First Shoot, version for brass band (1935/79–80)

• General Information:
I.   Giocoso     
II.  Andantino     
III. A tempo di Hesitation Waltz     
IV. A tempo, sub. Vivace     
V. Vivace     
Composition: 1980. A revision and arrangement of music for the ballet The First Shoot (1935).
First Performance:  19 December 1980. Goldsmith’s College, London. The Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Elgar Howarth conductor. Recording session for the Walton documentary At the Haunted End of the Day, directed by Tony Palmer. First transmitted on ITN, Sunday, 19 April 1981.
First Public Performance:  Monday, 7 September 1981. Royal Albert Hall, London. The Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Elgar Howarth conductor.
Duration: About 10 minutes
Dedication: “In Mem. C. B. Cochran and his Young Ladies”
Craggs Catalogue Number: C29b
Instrumentation: Soprano cornet, 8 cornets, flugelhorn, 3 horns, 2 baritone horns, 2 tenor trombones, bass trombone, 2 euphonium, 2 basses in E-flat, 2 basses in B-flat – timpani, percussion (xylophone, glockenspiel, side drum, bass drum, tenor drum, cymbals)
Manuscript: Frederick R. Koch Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Manuscript FRKF 594. Autograph full score. 48 pages.
Publication: Oxford University Press. 1986. Score and parts are available on hire.
Arrangements: The First Shoot, transcribed for orchestra by Christopher Palmer (c.1991) - Arranged for concert band by Ray Farr. Publication: Warner/Chappell, 2001.
Recordings:

Ensemble Conductor Year Compact Disc Timing
London Collegiate Brass James Stobart 1985 CRD 3444 8’52”
Black Dyke Mills Band James Watson 1995 ASV WHL 2093 9’26”

 

For additional recordings of this music, see the following arrangement: The First Shoot, transcribed for orchestra (arr. Palmer, 1991)