# Howells - String Quartet 3 'In Gloucestershire' (SQ review)



## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Herbert Howells began writing his String Quartet No.3 ('In Gloucestershire') in 1916. Its a work with an interesting history. First he lost the sketches for the quartet on a train and forgot all about it. A second version from 1919 also disappeared. Later, Howells would start to recall themes from the quartet and note them down and gradually, over the years, he started reconstructing and revising the different sections and then revamping the movements. In the 1960s a version was put together from a set of parts by the composer and his pupil, Richard Drake Ford but this was very different than the original. Two more versions also came about: the first from a set of incomplete parts in the RCM Library; the second from a mostly complete score in the the same library. This has now become the definitive version. 
Thematically, In Gloucestershire was inspired by Howells' surroundings of the Cotswolds and thoughts of The Great War. Some have suggested that Howells transported Cotswold scenes onto French and Belgium war landscapes in an almost cinematic way but I don't hear this in particular and it sounds more Pastoral than tragic to me. Btw, Howells didn't serve in the First World War on medical grounds (he had Graves Disease), but he'd heard enough poetry, suffered enough grief (quite a few close friends died) and seen enough pictures to build up a strong mental picture of the war, if that's what had partly inspired it. 
In the first movement one theme constantly reappears played in different moods, most commonly reflective and wistful. This is an excellent opening movement and really shows the depth of Howells' writing. The second movement alternates between the theme and a march and is the (very brief) scherzo of the quartet. Its such a short piece it almost feels like an interlude rather than a movement. The slow 3rd movement ("with much feeling") is emotional, moving and passionately elegiac. The finale is a tour de force key to this quartet and starts briskly and ruggedly in fashion until later Howells combines this and another version of the opening movement theme. This is developed further until the end of the piece, gradually picking up pace as it goes along. In Gloucestershire is a many-layered and absorbing quartet, one that bears repeated listening and a must for fans of British string quartet writing.
To my knowledge, there are only 3 recordings. One was released on Hyperion by Divertimenti, one on EMI (and now Warner) by the Britten Quartet but a newer version has appeared on Naxos, by the Dante Quartet. All of these are decent recordings and you'd not be disappointed with any. However in comparative listening some things do stand out. 
The *Britten Quartet *(as often) adopt a more measured tempo here and there is slight hesitancy in that all-important finale. Its not the pace, though, its a slight feeling that the forward momentum is stilted as there's not the flow of the other performances. Their recording has fine depth and is played impressively otherwise and their inner movements are very fine. 
The *Dante Quartet* are brisker, shaving nearly a minute off the finale, for example and I love their vigour and enthusiasm. Howell's tenderness is kept intact throughout and the finale has much more urgency than the Britten, rhythms dance and cavort and there's an earnestness. However the recording is quite bright. Violins are a little wirey and it doesn't have the weight of the finest recording here, especially in those viola and cello lines. Providing a happy medium, the *Divertimenti* on Hyperion play with great beauty and tenderness, negotiating the tricky first movement very impressively and rounding off with a cracking finale. Similar in pacing to the Britten the real winner here is the Divertimenti ensemble's playing. This is a group totally in tune with each other, sustaining tension and building the narrative through great communicative warmth. Hyperion's sound is rich, catching the bass response especially crisply and with the combination of sound and performance this is definitely my favourite recording of this sadly neglected work. If you like the quartets of Moeran and Vaughan Williams then this is one for you.


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