Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Richard Hickox.
I - Lento (sempre flessibile) - Allegretto: 0:00
II - Canto. Largo e sereno - (attacca): 9:19
III - Vivace impetuoso: 17:43
IV - Poco andante - Allegro moderato: 23:32
Rubbra's Symphony No.6 was composed between 1953-4, being commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society. It was premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in London on November 17 of 1954, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent. The Symphony contains ideas similar to those encountered in the Second, the music even begins in the same tonal area: D minor, but the sound-world is very different. At the head of the score the following motive is inscribed: E-F-A-B, the basis from which the entire symphony is built upon. The first three movements draws on two or three of the four notes, while the fourth presents it in full right in the beginning.
Rubbra's symphonies differ from the prevailing model of the symphony in that they are built on a principle of continuous, organic development from a single basic idea. By contrast, the traditional symphony is built on dramatic lines, with contrasting movements, each of which usually has contrasting themes as its main character. The symphony arose during a time which rebelled against counterpoint, while Rubbra's intention was to use the example of the great contrapuntal music of the English madrigalists for his model, capturing something of the modal feeling of English folk and church music by the false relationships between parts. Thus, Rubbra's symphonies form themselves according to the logic of their main idea, rather than fitting into the standard symphonic shape.
The first movement only vaguely resembles sonata form. It begins with a lento introduction with the opening chord featuring the first three notes from the motive (E-F-A) on harp, horns, bassoon and timpani. From this lyrical and nostalgic main theme is exposed by strings, seamlessly leading to the ensuing 6/8 allegretto. A joyous and vigorous rhythmic theme is presented by full orchestra, soon followed by a more melodic variation. As said before, the music is not built on a pair of contrasting themes developed dramatically, but on the organic and continuous growth of the initial ideas. An animated and luminous climax is reached, followed by a recapitulation of the themes that ends with a slow and contemplative coda.
The second movement is written in form of an arch, prefaced by lines of the great Italian poet Leopardi: Sempre caro mi fu quest’ermo colle / E questa siepe, che da tante parte / Dell’ultimo orizzonte il guardo esclude. (Always was this lonely hill dear to me / And this hedge which shuts out / So much of the distant horizon.) It opens with a the notes A and E from the aforementioned motive, which serve as the basis of a lyrical, static main theme presented by solo clarinet, muted horns and divided cellos. Structural and expressive tensions are subtly increased as the music progresses, the whole movement being a long-breathed song. The composer likened Leopardi’s lines to the view from his studio in the Chilterns where the symphony was written, but it also charts an inner spiritual landscape whose tranquillity of spirit and language almost recall the Missa in honorem Sancti Dominic (1948). After a powerful and expressive climax, the largo leads into the next part.
The third movement is a scherzo. It begins with a vigorously rhythmic main theme on strings, based on the first two notes of the motive (E-F), but the texture is soon lightened by a carolling figure on harp, celesta and clarinets. A foretaste of the "magic" music of the late Tenth and Eleventh Symphonies, as is the dancing character of the ideas and the subtle, elusive, metrical sense. In absence of a contrasting trio, the material is contrapuntally unfolded with more melodic ideas. As the late Hugh Ottaway put it, the primary impulse in the symphony "remains melodic and contrapuntal, but with greater emphasis on harmonic texture and therefore colour". A serene, almost bucolic coda ends the scherzo.
The fourth movement is divided in two clear parts. It opens with the four-note motive being fully exposed in an English horn solo, serving as the basis of a poignant and lyrical theme that is gradually presented between English horn and strings. The allegro moderato starts with a sudden change of pace, with a determined and agitated variation of the theme appearing and unfolding with sudden contrasts in colour and mood. A contemplative, horn-dominated passage offers some contrast, leading to a varied recapitulation of the rhythmic variation of the theme. A joyous and animated coda brings the work to an affirmative close.
Picture: "Landscape of the Moon's Last Phase" (1944) by British painter Paul Nash.
Sources: tinyurl.com/27wuox8z and tinyurl.com/27ku9kdk
Unfortunately, the score isn't freely available.
BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Richard Hickox.
I - Lento (sempre flessibile) - Allegretto: 0:00
II - Canto. Largo e sereno - (attacca): 9:19
III - Vivace impetuoso: 17:43
IV - Poco andante - Allegro moderato: 23:32
Rubbra's Symphony No.6 was composed between 1953-4, being commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society. It was premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in London on November 17 of 1954, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent. The Symphony contains ideas similar to those encountered in the Second, the music even begins in the same tonal area: D minor, but the sound-world is very different. At the head of the score the following motive is inscribed: E-F-A-B, the basis from which the entire symphony is built upon. The first three movements draws on two or three of the four notes, while the fourth presents it in full right in the beginning.
Rubbra's symphonies differ from the prevailing model of the symphony in that they are built on a principle of continuous, organic development from a single basic idea. By contrast, the traditional symphony is built on dramatic lines, with contrasting movements, each of which usually has contrasting themes as its main character. The symphony arose during a time which rebelled against counterpoint, while Rubbra's intention was to use the example of the great contrapuntal music of the English madrigalists for his model, capturing something of the modal feeling of English folk and church music by the false relationships between parts. Thus, Rubbra's symphonies form themselves according to the logic of their main idea, rather than fitting into the standard symphonic shape.
The first movement only vaguely resembles sonata form. It begins with a lento introduction with the opening chord featuring the first three notes from the motive (E-F-A) on harp, horns, bassoon and timpani. From this lyrical and nostalgic main theme is exposed by strings, seamlessly leading to the ensuing 6/8 allegretto. A joyous and vigorous rhythmic theme is presented by full orchestra, soon followed by a more melodic variation. As said before, the music is not built on a pair of contrasting themes developed dramatically, but on the organic and continuous growth of the initial ideas. An animated and luminous climax is reached, followed by a recapitulation of the themes that ends with a slow and contemplative coda.
The second movement is written in form of an arch, prefaced by lines of the great Italian poet Leopardi: Sempre caro mi fu quest’ermo colle / E questa siepe, che da tante parte / Dell’ultimo orizzonte il guardo esclude. (Always was this lonely hill dear to me / And this hedge which shuts out / So much of the distant horizon.) It opens with a the notes A and E from the aforementioned motive, which serve as the basis of a lyrical, static main theme presented by solo clarinet, muted horns and divided cellos. Structural and expressive tensions are subtly increased as the music progresses, the whole movement being a long-breathed song. The composer likened Leopardi’s lines to the view from his studio in the Chilterns where the symphony was written, but it also charts an inner spiritual landscape whose tranquillity of spirit and language almost recall the Missa in honorem Sancti Dominic (1948). After a powerful and expressive climax, the largo leads into the next part.
The third movement is a scherzo. It begins with a vigorously rhythmic main theme on strings, based on the first two notes of the motive (E-F), but the texture is soon lightened by a carolling figure on harp, celesta and clarinets. A foretaste of the "magic" music of the late Tenth and Eleventh Symphonies, as is the dancing character of the ideas and the subtle, elusive, metrical sense. In absence of a contrasting trio, the material is contrapuntally unfolded with more melodic ideas. As the late Hugh Ottaway put it, the primary impulse in the symphony "remains melodic and contrapuntal, but with greater emphasis on harmonic texture and therefore colour". A serene, almost bucolic coda ends the scherzo.
The fourth movement is divided in two clear parts. It opens with the four-note motive being fully exposed in an English horn solo, serving as the basis of a poignant and lyrical theme that is gradually presented between English horn and strings. The allegro moderato starts with a sudden change of pace, with a determined and agitated variation of the theme appearing and unfolding with sudden contrasts in colour and mood. A contemplative, horn-dominated passage offers some contrast, leading to a varied recapitulation of the rhythmic variation of the theme. A joyous and animated coda brings the work to an affirmative close.
Picture: "Landscape of the Moon's Last Phase" (1944) by British painter Paul Nash.
Sources: tinyurl.com/27wuox8z and tinyurl.com/27ku9kdk
Unfortunately, the score isn't freely available.
