ABSTRACT
Scenes from Comus proved a pivotal moment in Hugh Wood's career, and the period after its premiere bore witness to Wood's growing reputation. In 1966, Wood was made the first Cramb Research Fellow in Composition at Glasgow University. The first ideas for the Cello Concerto came three weeks after the premiere of Scenes from Comus, whilst Wood was teaching at the Wardour castle summer school. John Alldis trained the choir at the Wardour castle summer school in 1965; his own choir gave the first performance of Wood's Three Choruses the following year. The Capriccio Op. 8 and Quintet op. 9 share a number of technical and formal features that were later to be expanded in the Cello Concerto. The timbral clarity and rhythmic virtuosity of the Capriccio and Quintet are wedded to a formal sophistication and developmental urge characteristic of Wood's earlier music.
