Walton: Five Bagatelles for Classical Guitar

The Five Bagatelles (1970–71) by William Walton stand among the finest works composed for the classical guitar in the 20th century — and among the most revealing examples of what can happen when a major orchestral composer engages seriously with the instrument. Written at the direct request of Julian Bream, with Bream's close collaboration during the composition, the Bagatelles combine the Mediterranean brightness of Walton's late style with thoroughly idiomatic guitar writing across five highly contrasted movements.

William Walton (1902–1983)

William Walton was born in Oldham, Lancashire, on 29 March 1902, and died on his home island of Ischia, Italy, on 8 March 1983. He was among the most distinguished British composers of the 20th century, known for works including the oratorio Belshazzar's Feast (1931), the First Symphony (1935), the Violin Concerto (1939), and the opera Troilus and Cressida (1954). His work is characterised by rhythmic vitality, harmonic sophistication, and a distinctive English lyricism that absorbed and transformed continental influences.

Walton was not a guitarist and had no prior connection to the instrument before Julian Bream approached him in the late 1960s. This makes the Bagatelles all the more remarkable: they are not the work of a composer writing cautiously within the limits of an unfamiliar instrument, but of a major creative mind engaging fully with a new expressive world.

Julian Bream and the Commission

Julian Bream (1933–2020) was the foremost classical guitarist in Britain in the 20th century, and one of the most influential forces in expanding the guitar's concert repertoire. He approached Walton with the commission, provided a guitar and a fingerboard chart, and participated in composition sessions at Walton's home on the island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples. Bream offered technical guidance — which fingerings were natural, which chords lay idiomatically under the hand — while Walton drew the musical ideas. The collaboration was close and productive.

The Five Bagatelles are dedicated to Malcolm Arnold "with admiration and affection for his 50th birthday." Bream edited the published score (Oxford University Press, 1974 — "Edition Julian Bream") and gave the world premiere on 27 May 1972 at the Bath Assembly Rooms.

The Five Movements

The work lasts approximately 12 to 14 minutes in performance and is advanced to professional in technical demand.

No. 1 — Allegro. Fanfare-like and witty, with jazzy harmonies and an upbeat, buoyant character. A more melancholic mid-section provides contrast before the bright opening returns.
No. 2 — Lento. Languid and introspective, with an almost hypnotic repeated accompaniment figure. The most quietly atmospheric movement.
No. 3 — Alla Cubana. Smoky and seductive, with syncopated Latin-American rhythms that give the movement an exotic, tropical character quite distinct from the other four.
No. 4 — Sempre espressivo. Dreamy and serene, the most lyrical movement, singing in the upper register over a gentle accompaniment.
No. 5 — Con slancio. A frantic, virtuosic finale that is the most technically demanding of the five. Con slancio means "with dash" or "with élan" — the movement certainly delivers both.

The Orchestral Version: Varii Capricci

One unusual aspect of the Bagatelles' history is that Walton subsequently orchestrated them as Varii Capricci (1975–76), premiered on 4 May 1976 with the London Symphony Orchestra under André Previn at the Royal Festival Hall. He became so accustomed to the orchestral version that — in a well-documented story — when Bream later played him the original guitar version, Walton had completely forgotten that the piece had been written for guitar. The Varii Capricci demonstrates both the orchestral richness already latent in the guitar work and the degree to which Walton's imagination extended naturally from guitar to full orchestra.

Position in the Repertoire

The Five Bagatelles are one of the major 20th-century guitar works by a non-guitar composer — a category that also includes Britten's Nocturnal (written for Bream in 1963) and Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez. What distinguishes the Bagatelles is their wit, variety, and the sense that the guitar is being used not as an exotic novelty but as a complete musical instrument capable of carrying Walton's full compositional personality.

For British audiences and British players in particular, the Bagatelles carry a special resonance. They are unambiguously English in character — not in the folk-song way of Vaughan Williams, but in the urbane, confident, slightly sardonic way of Walton at his best. The guitar, in the Bagatelles, becomes an English instrument.

Performance Notes

The technical demands of the Bagatelles vary considerably across the five movements. No. 2 and No. 4 are among the less technically challenging, while No. 5 requires fluency at high speed and precise right-hand coordination. The work rewards players who can hold the five movements together as a complete emotional journey — not just as five separate technical challenges. The wit of No. 1 and No. 3, the lyrical depth of No. 4, and the brilliant energy of No. 5 need to feel like aspects of a single personality.

The published Oxford University Press score (ISBN 9780193594074) includes Bream's editorial fingering and remains the standard performance edition.

Performed at Siccas Guitars

Isabella Selder performed the complete Five Bagatelles for Siccas Guitars, offering a full view of all five movements and the emotional arc of the complete work. Her performance is available on the Siccas Guitars YouTube channel.