Sykes, John - Polonaise

The Polonaise exists in two versions, this and one for two pianos. The latter was part of the incedental music for a Kingswood School play production of Jonah and the Whale by James Bridie in November 1952, and had the subtitle Assyrian Festive Dance. Sadly the manuscript for the solo paino version is lost, but it has recently been possible to reconstruct it with the help of Dr. K.G. Martlew, a past pupil who had memorised the music. Comparison of the two shows that the solo version almost certainly predates that for two pianos, and thus may well not have been intended as incidental music. This may help explain the apparent translation of Nineveh to Poland! It is a virtuoso piece, very much in the style and form of a Chopin polonaise with a central trio section and an exultant new theme in the coda.