Description

This eight-minute quintet falls into three movements (played continuously). The first is fast and characterised by military fanfares which echo across pairs of instruments. This process is interrupted by a slow rocking duet between the Horn and the Tuba which is marked ‘like a watch with a run-down spring’ (hence, in part, the title of the piece). The slow movement is in an ABA structure with an energetic Scherzo section appearing in the middle. The third movement is marked ‘dramatic’ and features high-range trumpets over the top of demisemiquaver chattering from the other instruments – a tour-de-force of virtuosity and panache.