Rooted in the pastoral mode of Elgar and Vaughan Williams, Suite No.1 (1956) is an early manifestation of Ritchie's lifelong preoccupation with the ritornello as a basis for first-movement structure. The Air is a dreamy, slow-moving waltz with a folky feel, an intense middle section and a reprise that exploits a solo viola in its final bars. A prominent divisi viola sound features in the slow march that makes up the middle of the Intrada, while the Fugue's jaunty theme approaches jazz in spirit.
John Ritchie was one of New Zealand’s senior composers. Throughout a long composing career, he elected to write in an accessible and traditional manner, often in stark contrast to much of the work being produced by his contemporaries in the style of the European avant garde. He created a body of work which, while less well-known than it deserves to be, is loved and enjoyed by performers and audiences alike for its deft craftsmanship and pleasing melodic grace.
