Flight of the Albatross, dated 2 October 1980, was written at the request of violinist Tania Dyett for a series of primary school concerts given under the auspices of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council. Dyett had enjoyed Pruden's score for the National Film Unit nature documentary Royal Albatross (1979) and wanted music with a similar pictorial element and sense of immediacy. The solution was for Pruden to compose a short piece for violin and piano based on sections of the film score. Opening with the original Dual Flight music, then High Wind Flight, and closing with Epilogue, Flight of the Albatross portrays the pattern and movements of the bird wheeling and soaring over the illimitable sea.
Flight of the Albatross is an excellent vehicle for intermediate students looking for lyrical contemporary music; the work serves as a sure test for legato bowing. Recommended.
