The 28-year-old Jon Lord, with no experience at all of writing for orchestra, composed this work in only threemonths in the lead-up to its premierewith the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Malcolm Arnold. It was his first work for orchestra, launching his career as both a classical composer and a founding member of Deep Purple. It isnotably rich in youthful invention, sound in structure, andsophisticated in craftsmanship. It broke new ground at the time, and seems only to have grown in stature across the intervening years. The full score appears here in printfor the first time ever, meticulously edited by the composer's long-timemusical collaborator Paul Mann.