Roy Agnew: 'Sonata Symphonique' [unpublished]

Abstract

"The manuscript of the second unpublished work contains a number of attempted titles: Poem Sonata, with Sonata then scribbled out; La Belle Dame Sans MercV and Keats in brackets; Poem Sonata in brackets on another page, with the Keats quotation under it, and finally Symphonic Poem. Poem seemed a necessity to Agnew, one way or the other, and, no doubt, various portions of the work can be related to the Keats poem. In my mind, again for the sake of uniformity, I call the piece Sonata Symphonique: not because it is any bigger than the others in the series, but because it seems to be permeated by a rather delicate orchestral coloration. The model now seems closer to Ravel than to Scriabin, and again, it seems likely that harmonic audacity prevented the work from being published. The main theme of the piece is a succession of descending chromatic ninths; at the beginning of the work these are marked very cold and desolate, which lends a special harmonic feel to the work. There is no date on the manuscript; the work is mentioned in an interview published in 1920, but this evidence is not conclusive, as other works not yet written are mentioned during the same interview." -- Larry Sitsky