Peter Walden, formerly cor anglais player with the CBSO, was given the manuscript of Siciliano and Coranto to perform in a concert with Mary Chandler. The work is believed to date from the 1960s, although no precise date has been confirmed. These two pieces recall Chandler’s “Three Dance Studies” (C663), which similarly appear to have been conceived as teaching pieces. Mary included “Sicilianos” in many of her works, suggesting a particular fondness for the dance’s characteristic lilting quality.
