Sir Gawain

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Sir Gawain is a tone poem for symphony orchestra written for the 2026 Whitworth Concerto Competition. This piece is based on the anonymous poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written in the 14th century in Middle-Ages England. I have wanted to write a piece in this style ever since I first studied medieval music and its composers. Their music, to my surprise, did not sound “less refined”, but rather seemed to prioritize different kinds of voice leading/cadential movement, which I studied in the hopes of writing well in the style.  

Aside from the sum of all my musical influences, this piece is distinctly inspired by three works: John Williams’ Horn Concerto, Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote, and Guillaume de Machaut’s Messe de Nostre Dame. These pieces not only offered me plenty of the sounds and textures I use to represent my musical interpretation of the poem but have informed more generally the way I think about music. Williams crafts a world that is novel and modern and that represents the antique. Strauss, the model of the orchestral tone poem, is compositionally able to evoke a knightly character, and represents conflict through a masterful arrangement and development of thematic material. And Machaut offers us authentic music of the era, showing us what musicians of the day saw as the pinnacle of style.

The form of this piece follows the narrative arcs of the poem to the best of my ability. It is bookended by a trombone choir playing a Kyrie, representing the church and the presence of God with Gawain as described in the poem. This section of music is intentionally unarticulated to pay homage to the simple beauty of medieval notation. The dances at the beginning and end evoke courtly dance music and are written in the form of a Carole. In the sections following the first dance, I present the two main characters (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) using short gestural themes, both named in the score. I draw upon these themes extensively throughout the work, especially during moments that represent conflict between the two as described in the poem. The middle section (pp. 15-18), featuring a graphically altered score, musically represents Gawain’s wandering throughout England in search of the Green Cathedral, and features three consorts of instruments that are queued in separately and play independently from one another. “Consort A” is a reed consort, representing double reeds of the period like the shawm, dulcian, and crumhorn, accompanied by the tambourine. “Consort B” is made up of a muted trumpet, muted solo violin (together emulating timbre of a bagpipe), a sustaining drone in violin 2, and strummed viola to emulate the lute, accompanied by the field drum. Both consorts play virelais that I wrote. “Consort C” is the trombone choir playing the Kyrie from the beginning of the work. The effect of this section is one of having groups of travelling musicians pass you by.

Quat schuld I wonde? Of destinés derf and dere, what may mon do bot fonde?

Wherefore should I shrink? If destiny is kind or cruel, what may man do but try?