Divertimento from Four Extemporizations

Dedicated 'To P.P.' (Douglas Hamilton ‘Peter’ Priest)
Douglas was better known as ‘Peter’ and had been a server at St. Stephen’s Bournemouth, moving to teach at the Choir School in Winchester after graduating from Bristol University in 1928. He stood in as organist at St. Stephen’s when the Whitlocks were married. Whitlock described him in his diary (18 Sept 1930) as ‘v amusing, & brimming over with beans and bonhomie’.

In 1931, Peter attended Chichester Theological College and was deaconed in 1933, priested in 1935. He worked in Southampton, Colchester and after war service Dover. Vicar of The Isle of Dogs and Chaplain and Rector of St. Mark’s Cape Town. He returned to England becoming Vicar of St. Alban’s Holborn from 1965-1979.

Whitlock was familiar with Vierne’s scherzo movements with regular BBC broadcasts or recitals including Vierne’s Divertissement in 1934, 36, 39 and 43. Also Fantômes in 1934 (RAH) and Scherzetto in 1937.

The metronome marking for this piece is crotchet=120. This seems a 'rollocking' pace and I have not come across any performances at this tempo! Most players use a tempo between 100 and 110. The lyrical interludes speak comfortably at around 94, players taking these at between 90 and 96. Malcolm Riley remarks on the similarity between these sections (especially bb.19-23) and Stanford’s Magnificat in B flat at ‘And his mercy is on them that fear him’. There are also rising motifs, hinting at those in Elgar’s Nimrod or the Adagio from his ‘Cello concerto.

The piece was arranged for Wind Quintet in 1996 by Malcolm Riley. I cannot find a recording of this, can anyone help?