Cat No. JM30922
Price £59.95
Composer / arranger: John Ireland
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works)

Previously set as a Championship or 1st. section testpiece, this piece has been set as the 1st. section testpiece for the 2005 Regional Championships.

Short mp3 audio extracts are provided here to give you a sample of each section of the work. You can also view a sample of the Solo Cornet Part.

Access them by clicking on the "MORE DETAILS" button.
You can buy the full recording of this work on the CD section of our site.

Composed in 1934 during the so called golden era of 1928 - 1936 when a number of leading British composers wrote works for the National Championships at Crystal Palace.

The eerie introduction ( mp3 extract #1 ) is a pre-dawn glimpse of the streets of the capitol in an age when they would be much quieter at that time of day than they are these days. Classed as a Concert Overture, Comedy is in sonata form, with much of its material derived from the first few notes. The first subject - "Allegro moderato brilliante" ( mp3 extract #2 )opens with the familiar "dilly - Piccadilly" motif, said to have been shouted by a bus conductor.

The contrasting second subject - "Tranqullio" opens with a serene cornet solo. Much of the development section refers to the Introduction, but also includes a profound elegiac section ( mp3 extract #3 ), said to be a lament of the death of a close friend of the composer's. The recapitulation follows traditional lines and as the tempo increases a brief coda brings the work to an exciting close.

The recording is REGIONALS 2005 on Doyen DOY CD181