The Capriol Suite is a set of dances composed in October 1926 by

Peter Warlock Philip Arnold Heseltine (30 October 189417 December 1930), known by the pseudonym Peter Warlock, was a British composer and music critic. The Warlock name, which reflects Heseltine's interest in occult practices, was used for all his publishe ...

and is considered one of his most popular works. Originally written for piano duet, Warlock later scored it for both

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

and full

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

s. According to the composer, it was based on tunes in

Thoinot Arbeau Thoinot Arbeau is the anagrammatic pen name of French cleric Jehan Tabourot (March 17, 1520 – July 23, 1595). Tabourot is most famous for his ''Orchésographie'', a study of late sixteenth-century French Renaissance social dance. He was bor ...

's ''Orchésographie'', a manual of

Renaissance dance Renaissance dances belong to the broad group of historical dances. During the Renaissance period, there was a distinction between country dances and court dances. Court dances required the dancers to be trained and were often for display and ent ...

s. Nevertheless, Warlock's biographer, Cecil Gray, wrote that "if one compares these tunes with what the composer has made of them it will be seen that to all intents and purposes it can be regarded as an original work". The work is dedicated to the Breton composer

Paul Ladmirault Paul Émile Ladmirault (8 December 1877 – 30 October 1944) was a French composer and music critic whose music expressed his devotion to Brittany. Claude Debussy wrote that his work possessed a "fine dreamy musicality", commenting on its chara ...

. The suite consists of six movements: #''Basse-Danse'',

Allegro moderato In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed fo ...

#''Pavane'', Allegretto, ma un poco lento,

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. According to Paolo Pietropaolo, it is the ...

#''Tordion'',

Con moto A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...

#''Bransles'',

Presto Presto may refer to: Computing * Presto (browser engine), an engine previously used in the Opera web browser * Presto (operating system), a Linux-based OS by Xandros * Presto (SQL query engine), a distributed query engine * Presto (animation s ...

#''Pieds-en-l'air'', Andante tranquillo,

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable com ...

#''Mattachins (Sword Dance)'', Allegro con brio,

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor. The F major scale is: : F major is ...

The individual movements are very brief; a performance of the suite lasts about 10 minutes.

External links

*
Various documentation.
{{Authority control Compositions by Peter Warlock Orchestral suites 1926 compositions Compositions for piano four-hands Compositions for string orchestra Compositions for symphony orchestra