TheSymphony No. 6 byRobert Simpson was completed in 1977 and dedicated to the renowned gynaecologistIan Craft. It was commissioned by theLondon Philharmonic Orchestra who gave the premiere underSir Charles Groves in a performance broadcast 8 April 1980.[1]
Ian Craft, thesymphony dedicatee, suggested that the emergence of life from a fertilized cell could be paralleled in symphonic form, with motives developing by thematic metamorphosis. This idea appealed to Simpson who took it even further by dividing the one-movement work into two parts: the first a steady build up to a large climax which symbolises birth, the second representing the rapid growth of the newborn individual.
At the beginning, two germinal elements are exposed; static and mobile. These include triadic shapes in the violins, and a chord which has potential to open out into a chain of fifths which Simpson likened to a DNA molecule. The material is always growing and proliferating into polyphonic lines, canons, inversions and retrogrades which representing cells dividing, multiplying and grouping. Eventually a central climax is reached after graphical ‘contractions’ from the orchestra; this represents the moment of birth and brings about a sense of release.
The second half of the work symbolises the rapid development of the newborn and suggests the sequence of an intermezzo, scherzo and finale. After a long oboe melody, there is a quiet fugue before a triumphant and energetic conclusion. The work ends triadically (an unusual occurrence in Simpson’s music) on a resounding D major chord.
Currently, the only commercially available CD is aHyperion Records release which also includesSymphony No. 7, both performed by theRoyal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted byVernon Handley.[2]
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