The overture is scored for a large orchestra including 4 horns, tuba and harp. It was written in 1969 and first performed in Merthyr Tydfil in 1970.
After a dramatic introduction, we hear an 8-bar melody which is then taken up by the strings and trumpet and which is intended to convey pathos. The semitone clash of a drooping figure in cellos against stagnant double basses is the composer’s method to depict a landslide. A percussion cadenza towards the end marks the end of the landslide and the end of the semitone clash. A recapitulation of the dramatic opening and 8-bar melody is followed by a coda based on previous material.
Performance by Mid Glamorgan Youth Orchestra, 1994
Conductor: Jeffrey Francis
Performances
| Merthyr Tydfil | 1970 |
| Abergavenny | 1970 |
| Caerphilly | 1994 |
| Treorchy | 2003 |
| Swansea Brangwyn Hall | 2012 |
| Aberystwyth Arts | 2014 |
| Swansea Bay TV | 2016 |