Moneta Eagles: Theme and Variations - Passacaglia (1948-49)

Abstract

The title page implies that Moneta Eagles (b. 1924) wasn't certain whether she should call the work 'Theme and Variations' or 'Passacaglia'. In truth, it draws upon characteristics of both, yet is closer to the latter. The piece consists of an eight-bar theme, set out like a ground bass, followed by seven variations, which become increasingly more dense and dramatic, and which end in a grandiose reiteration of the opening idea. Eagles, after winning a number of prizes and commissions in the concert music world (including an important prize for her Sonatina for Piano), moved increasingly towards composing music for films. This student work is therefore an interesting indication of what might have been.