# British composers and chamber music



## whispering

Please could some time generous people help me out. My great interest is chamber music eg string quartets, piano trios, piano quintets, violin sonatas. Recently I have realised my interest has not really included British composers. I have listened to Elgar’s piano quintet, string quartet and violin sonata, Bridge’s piano quintet, Moeran’s string quartet. I have been put off in the past by comments that it all sounds the same, intermission music, etc. No doubt you may have come across such comments as well. I am in a caring role where I have long evenings alone and I have decided to explore beyond my usual catchment of leading European composers. However where to start? Names such as Bax, Arnold, Bridge, Finzi, Vaughn Williams, etc, are mostly just that to me. Please could someone kindly suggest some listening recommendations to me. We all have to start somewhere when branching out of the familiar. Wandering down unknown roads would give me a bit of a lift, let my mind have a positive thread to follow. Just a plea to people on here from a member who quite literally does not get out much at present. All replies welcome.


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## 89Koechel

To be honest, maybe chamber music is not the strongest suit, so to speak, of English composers. You mentioned Elgar and his piano quintet, plus Frank Bridge and some others. Vaughan-Williams wrote 2 string quartets, and they're somewhat appealing. Maybe you'd be better-off with some of the more-substantial works of Walton, V-W, Elgar and others - for instance, Walton's Violin and/or Viola Concertos, short pieces by V-W, and some of Elgar's Overtures - "Cockaigne", for one, will give one that sense of the great VALUE of what some of these men accomplished, some years ago. …. Best of luck!


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## Olias

There is a wind quintet by English composer Gustav Holst that is a staple of the wind quintet repertoire and is definitely worth exploring.


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## Guest

Elgar - Violin Sonata Op 82


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## Bulldog

Check out the chamber music of Alan Rawsthorne; there's plenty of it on Naxos recordings and it's very good.


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## Bulldog

Partita said:


> Elgar - Violin Sonata Op 82


Yes, that's a great work which also reminds me of the equally rewarding violin sonata from Walton.


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## mikeh375

Check out the 15 string quartets by Robert Simpson, the UK's Shostakovich. Michael Tippet wrote 5 quartets, Britten 3.


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## Art Rock

Bax - start with the harp quintet, then the string quartets.
Moeran - Fantasy Quartet for oboe and strings, then cello sonata
Clarke, Rebecca - Viola sonata


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## sonance

whispering - First of all I'd like to wish you strength. To be in a caring role will put a lot of stress on you. I also wish you many friends to support you and the ability to get the necessary rest. May music give joy to you!

As for the music: Here are some suggestions:

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Phantasy Quintet (Maggini Quartet)





Benjamin Britten: String Quartet no. 3 (Maggini Quartet)





Charles Villiers Stanford: String Quartet no. 4 (Dante Quartet)





John Joubert: String Quartet no. 3 - first movement (Brodsky Quartet)





John Ireland: Phantasy Sonata (Robert Plane, clarinet; Sophia Rahman, piano)


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## sonance

Some more suggestions (old and new ...)

John Bull: Pavan in the second tone (Alan Feinberg, piano)





Tobias Hume: Captain Humes Pavin (Jordi Savall, viola da gamba)





Henry Purcell: Suite in A minor (Kenneth Gilbert, harpsichord)





Nigel Clarke: The Scarlet Flower (Sébastian Rousseau, flugelhorn; Longbow)





Jonathan Harvey: Curve with Plateau for Solo Cello (Arne Deforce, cello)


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## pjang23

Frank Bridge's Piano Quintet is brilliant, but so are his piano trios and piano quartet:


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## ahinton

pjang23 said:


> Frank Bridge's Piano Quintet is brilliant, but so are his piano trios and piano quartet:


These three works are indeed outstanding, especially the second piano trio (although it's actually his third - he discarded his first one from 1899 at some point).


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## Guest

British classical music from around 1880-1980 is one of my main interests, and has been for some time. I only listed a single work by Elgar (Violin Sonata Op 82) earlier today as it wasn't convenient to delve any further into my collection at the time.

A few more composers and works are listed below. I have only included composers not mentioned previously, and have confined attention to those composers born after about 1850, leaving out the barogue and classical eras completely. Apologies if any composer names are repeated as given by others. In several cases, the composers listed below produced quite a lot of chamber works, and I have only given a small number of examples. 

Adding up everything provided so far in this thread, there is obviously a very large amount of British chamber music that's worth exploring. I have most of the stuff so far mentioned, but not all. I will find useful some of the suggestions to fill out the gaps. For instance, I don't have works by Alan Rawsthorne. He has been on my "to do" list for some time now.

In addition to chamber music (2+ instruments), the OP might wish to note, if he is not already aware, that there's a lot of very good songs/song cycles by the likes of George Butterworth, Ivor Gurney, Peter Warlock, involving piano accompaniment in many cases. Also there's some interesting solo piano work by the likes of somewhat obscure British composers like Armstrong Gibbs, which is worth trying out. The OP didn't mention any of these so I haven't included any. 

William	Alwyn (	1905	-	1985	)	-	Suite for oboe & harp; Violin Sonatina
Malcolm	Arnold (	1921	-	2006	)	-	Several incl Trio for flute, viola, bassoon; Oboe quartet
Arthur	Bliss (	1891	-	1975	)	-	Several incl Piano Quartet; Viola Sonata
Frederick	Delius (	1862	-	1934	)	-	Several incl Piano Quartet; Viola Sonata
Edward	Elgar (	1857	-	1934	)	-	String Quartet; Piano Quintet
Gerald	Finzi (	1901	-	1956	)	-	Five Bagatelles
Herbert	Howells (	1892	-	1983	)	-	Sonata for clarinet & piano
John	Ireland (	1879	-	1962	)	-	Several incl Violin Sonata No 2; Piano Trio No 3
Gordon	Jacob (	1879	-	1962	)	-	Quartet for oboe & strings
Hubert	Parry (	1848	-	1918	)	-	Trio in E minor for violin, cello & pianoforte
Edmund	Rubbra (	1901	-	1986	)	-	Several incl String Quartets Nos 1-4; Piano trio in one movement
Edwin	York Bowen (	1884	-	1961	)	-	Rhapsody Trio in A major


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## Bwv 1080

Brian Ferneyhough has written some brilliant chamber music


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## Littlephrase

The third has been mentioned already, but I'll put a spotlight on all the string quartets of Britten.


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## starthrower

The Alwyn Chamber Music disc on Naxos is very fine. And the Chandos Bax disc featuring his octet. The Britten string quartets are also recommended. I have the set on Brilliant Classics by the quartet named after the composer.


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## rw181383

This is being released in September: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8649064--british-string-quartets


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## mikeh375

Lennox Berkley is worth a listen.....as is dear old Malcom Arnold.


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## sonance

How could I forget the three cello suites by Britten? They are awesome. Here is given the link to Suite no. 3, but please check nos. 1 and 2 as well. The dedicatee - Rostropovich - performed all three of them, but recorded only nos. 1 and 2.

Benjamin Britten: Cello Suite no. 3 (Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello)





Frederich Delius: Violin Sonata no. 3 (Michael Foyle, violin; Maksim Stsura, piano)





Cyril Scott: Violin Sonata no. 1 - first movement (Clare Howick, violin; Sophia Rahman, piano)





Kenneth Leighton: Sonata for Cello Solo - first movement (Raphael Wallfisch, cello)





James MacMillan: Cello Sonata no. 1 - first movement (Henri Demarquette, cello; Graham Scott, piano)





Sometimes I couldn't find links to the complete work, sorry. Hopefully the first movements are okay for you ...


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## sonance

... and a few more:

Rebecca Clarke: Piano Trio (Atos Trio)





Ian Venables: Caprice (Graham J. Lloyd, piano)





Ethel Smyth: String Quartet - first movement (Fanny Mendelssohn Quartet)





David Matthews: String Quartet no. 12 - first movement (Kreutzer Quartet)





Judith Weir: Piano Trio - first movement (Schubert Ensemble)


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## mikeh375

+1 for David Matthews. He's also written some fine symphonies.


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## David Phillips

Sir Arthur Bliss: String Quartet No.2 - a peach of a work.


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## Guest

This release is full of great stuff. The Maconchy and Frankel clarinet quintets are my favorites.










https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDH55105


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## Josquin13

Some of the works below have already been mentioned, but here's my overview on the subject, in two parts:

I. Romantic, Modern & Contemporary:

1. Arnold Bax--Elegiac Trio: 



2. Arnold Bax--Harp Quintet: 



3. Arnold Bax--Nonet: 




https://www.amazon.com/Bax-Quintet-...legiac+trio+bax&qid=1564128416&s=music&sr=1-2
https://www.amazon.com/Bax-Quintet-...legiac+trio+bax&qid=1564128416&s=music&sr=1-1
https://www.amazon.com/Elegiac-Trio...legiac+trio+bax&qid=1564128416&s=music&sr=1-4

4. Ralph Vaughan Williams: 
Phantasy Quintet:








Violin Sonata: 



String Quartet No. 2: 



https://www.amazon.com/Vaughan-Will...n+williams+nash&qid=1564170395&s=music&sr=1-3
Songs for tenor & chamber ensemble: 
"On Wenlock Edge" (set to 6 poems by A.E. Housman): 



"10 Blake Songs" (set to 10 poems by William Blake): 








https://www.amazon.com/Vaughan-Will...n+williams+nash&qid=1564170395&s=music&sr=1-1

5. Frederick Delius--The Four Violin Sonatas, & beautiful Cello Sonata:

--Violin Sonatas 1-3: 



--Cello Sonata: 




https://www.amazon.com/4-Violin-Son...ttle+piers+lane&qid=1564128617&s=music&sr=1-1
Here's an interesting documentary by violinist Tasmin Little on Delius's years in Florida, called "The Lost Child": 



https://www.amazon.com/Delius-Colle...us+ralph+holmes&qid=1564128665&s=music&sr=1-4

6. Frederick Delius: String Quartet 1916:

Brodsky Quartet: 



Fitzwilliam Quartet:

















7. Sir Edward Elgar: Piano Quintet, Op. 84: 



https://www.amazon.com/British-Comp...r+piano+quintet&qid=1564173175&s=music&sr=1-1

8. Bernard Stevens--Theme and Variations for String Quartet, String Quartet No. 2, and Lyric Suite for String Trio: 




9a. British Violin Sonatas, Volume 1 (Walton, Ferguson, Britten)--Tasmin Little & Piers Lane:




9b. British Violin Sonatas, Volume 2 (Bridge, Vaughan Williams, Ireland, Bliss)--Little & Lane: 




10. Sir Michael Tippett--5 String Quartets: 









11. Benjamin Britten--Elegy for Viola: 









12. Benjamin Britten--Lachrymae for Viola and Piano, Op. 48: violist Yuri Bashmet & pianist Sviatoslav Richter: 




13. Benjamin Britten--String Quartets 1, 2, & 3: 




14. Benjamin Britten--Rhapsody for string quartet: 




15. Benjamin Britten--Phantasy Quartet for Oboe and String Trio, Op. 2: 




16. Frank Bridge--Phantasie Quartet: 




17. Edmund Rubbra--String Quartets 1-4:

--Nos. 1, 3, & 4 (Maggini Quartet): 



--No. 2 (Maggini Quartet): 



--No. 4 (Dante Quartet): 




18. Edmund Rubbra--Sonata for Oboe & Piano, Op. 100: 



19. Edmund Rubbra--Cello Sonata, Op. 60, played by cellist Jacqueline Dupre: 



20. Edmund Rubbra--Violin Sonatas 1-3: https://www.amazon.com/Rubbra-Violi...+violin+sonatas&qid=1564167507&s=music&sr=1-1
21. Edmund Rubbra--Piano Trio no. 1, Op. 68: 




22. Alan Rawsthorne--String Quartets 1-3, here's No. 1: 



https://www.amazon.com/Rawsthorne-S...alan+rawsthorne&qid=1564176206&s=music&sr=1-8
Sonata for flute, viola and harp--unrecorded, to my knowledge...?
Piano Quintet: 



Piano trio
Viola Sonata
Cello Sonata
Elegy for guitar: 




23. Sir Lennox Berkeley--String Quartets Nos. 1-3:




24. Sir Malcom Arnold:
Three Shanties for Wind Quintet: 



Wind Quintet, Op. 2: 



Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2 
Trio for Violin, Cello, & Piano:












String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2, Phantasy for String Quartet "Vita Abundans":




https://www.amazon.com/String-Quart...arnold+chamber&qid=1564166815&s=music&sr=1-24

The Nash Ensemble's Arnold chamber music series is excellent, on Hyperion or Helios (their discount label)--3 CDs:
Volume 1: https://www.amazon.com/Arnold-Chamb...os+vol.+1&qid=1564167333&s=music&sr=1-2-fkmr0
Volume 2: https://www.amazon.com/Arnold-Chamb...os+vol.+1&qid=1564167333&s=music&sr=1-1-fkmr1
Volume 3: https://www.amazon.com/Arnold-Chamb...ld+helios&qid=1564167197&s=music&sr=1-2-fkmr0

25. Alan Ridout: String Quartet No. 6 "The Vitréen": 




26. Robert Simpson--String Quartets 1-15, played by the Delmé & Coull Quartets: Unfortunately, all that I can find on YT are these Hyperion label samplers (I wish Hyperion would reissue this important SQ cycle in a box set):


















27. Peter Maxwell Davies--String Quartets 1-10: https://www.amazon.com/Peter-Maxwel...s+maggini+naxos&qid=1564169358&s=music&sr=1-1

String Quartet: 



String Quintet: 




28. Richard Rodney Bennett: Ballad in memory of Shirley Horn: 




29. Oliver Knussen: various chamber works:

--'...upon one note' for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano, fantasia after Purcell (1995): 



--Ophelia Dances, Book 1: 



--Elegiac Arabesques for cor anglais and clarinet: 



--Autumnal for violin and piano: 



--Cantata for oboe and string trio: 



Knussen rehearsing the oboe quartet 'Cantata' with the Stolz Quartet: 



--Three Little Fantasias for wind quintet, Op. 6a: 



--'Masks' for Solo Flute and glass chimes 'ad lib', Op. 3: 



--"Secret Psalm" for solo violin: 




30. Sir Harrison Birtwistle: 
--Nine Movements for String Quartet: 



--Pulse Shadows, Mediations on Paul Celan for Soprano, String Quartet and Ensemble (1996): 



https://www.amazon.com/Pulse-Shadows-Sir-Harrison-Birtwistle/dp/B000050KFO
--String Quartet--"The Tree of Strings":



Complete String Quartets (Arditti Quartet): https://www.amazon.com/Birtwistle-C...D14RT4JGN1T&psc=1&refRID=1GQYD0W70D14RT4JGN1T
--Duo for Eight Strings, for viola and cello: 



Chamber Music: https://www.amazon.com/Chamber-Musi...isa+batiashvili&qid=1564169434&s=music&sr=1-1

31. Sir John Tavener:

Anonymous 4 & the Chilingirian Quartet: 



--Ikon of Light, for Chorus & String trio: 
Tallis Scholars & Heath Quartet: 



https://www.amazon.com/Tavener-Ikon...cholars+tavener&qid=1564170244&s=music&sr=1-2
There are multiple listings on Amazon of this CD, so you might check the others for the best price, if interested: https://www.amazon.com/Tavener-Ikon...cholars+tavener&qid=1564170244&s=music&sr=1-4

II. Early Music:

1. Thomas Tallis--Complete Consort Music: 




2. William Byrd--Consort Music & Songs--including Byrd's elegiac consort song, "Ye Sacred Muses", composed upon the death of his teacher, Thomas Tallis: 




https://www.amazon.com/Goe-Nightly-...owland+fretwork&qid=1564180928&s=music&sr=1-2
https://www.amazon.com/William-Byrd...WQTNDMTKCC8&psc=1&refRID=KCRG7WXTXWQTNDMTKCC8

3. John Dowland--Lachrimae Antiquae from Lachrimae, or Seven Teares: 




4. Orlando Gibbons--Fantasias in 3-6 parts: 



https://www.amazon.com/Orlando-Gibb...YD01XMV1RVE&psc=1&refRID=2SRHW690XYD01XMV1RVE

5. John Coprario (also known as Coperario, although his real name was John Cooper): Consort Music: 



https://www.amazon.com/John-Coprari...io+savall&qid=1564129472&s=music&sr=1-1-fkmr0

6. John Jenkins--Four-part Consort Music: 




https://www.amazon.com/John-Jenkins...YD01XMV1RVE&psc=1&refRID=2SRHW690XYD01XMV1RVE

7. Fretwork plays "English music for viols"--by various composers: Henry Purcell, William Lawes, Matthew Locke, & John Jenkins: 




8. John Ward--Fantasias for viols: 




9. William Lawes--Consort Music: 




10. Henry Purcell:

--Fantasias for viols, 1680: 



--10 Sonatas in four parts: 



--12 Sonatas of 3 Parts, 1683: 




11. A mixture of early music & contemporary music: Lockerbie Memorial Concert, Westminster Cathedral, December 21 1998--Gavin Bryars, Hilliard Ensemble, Fretwork: 




I don't expect you'll be keen on all of the above works or composers, but I do hope that you make some interesting, meaningful discoveries (although the above list isn't meant to be explored all at once, but gradually over time, at your leisure).


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## mikeh375

great links Josquin13


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## Enthusiast

Most of these have been mentioned. Maxwell Davies's Naxos Quartets; George Benjamin's Octet; Birtwistle's Pulse Shadows; Britten's quartets, Tippett's quartets; Elgar's Piano Quintet.


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## whispering

I have just reviewed all of the replies to my thread. I can honestly say I am at a loss for words. So many strangers taking considerable time and thought to answer my query. I have drifted into a caring role over the last few years and as one responder stated it does create stresses and strains in your life. You tend to become somewhat isolated and to meet such generosity of spirit is humbling. You have given me so much potential to explore, with some composer names I would never have found on my own, with my current knowledge level. Thank you especially for all the links making my enjoyment all the easier to get to grips with. All I can say is thank you. 

Music can cross so many bridges and the Internet build so many positive links. The replies from all of you are very much appreciated. I wish you all well for the future. Perhaps I can pass on one piece of information I have learnt the hard way. If a loved one or friend is ever diagnosed with some type of Dementia it is hard to accept, but please do not give up on them. Their life is not over and they need you more than ever. My mother’s interest in music helps stir memories. Regrettably it is Jim Reeves and country and western not classical.

Media coverage tends to dwell on the negative and the sensational when reporting Dementia. The truth can be a long way from that. There is a saying in the Carers world. “If you meet one person with Dementia always remember that is all you have done, met one person with Dementia. There are many different routes individuals will take”. Thank you all again. I learn a lot here reading threads. Raising one has helped me understand there are some really lovely people out there I will never meet, but we share a similar interest. Stay well.


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## mikeh375

Been there whispering. Stay strong.


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## Dirge

Below are the five British chamber works/recordings that I've listened to most over the years, those that have stood the test of time-no fly-by-night favorites here …

Frank BRIDGE: String Quartet No. 3 (1926)
:: Endellion Quartet [Virgin]
String Quartet No. 3 is the highlight of Bridge's one-man English Expressionism movement of the 1920s and '30s and one of my favorite English or Expressionist string quartet of any decade. The work is laid out and structured traditionally enough, having a sonata-allegro first movement, an intermezzo second, and a sonata-rondo third/final. It's with tonality and harmonics that Bridge breaks with tradition: it's chromatic, with all twelve tones and a lot of dubious harmonies revolving around a nebulous C-major tonal center. What makes the work go is the sheer vigor and intellectual rigor of Bridge's development-this is one highly wrought, organic piece of music. Even when I can't specifically cite why-which, sad to say, is a lot of the time, as my motif-recognition skills rather suck-the music at any given point always "sounds" strongly related to the rest of the music; nothing comes across as extraneous or gratuitous or out of place. The themes built from the basic thematic material morph and develop in long stretches (especially in the first movement) that are worked out to the bitter end, giving the work an ever-evolving sinewy quality. The lyrical Intermezzo, a muted discussion between violins over a spare viola (pizzicato) and cello accompaniment, serves as a respite from the obsessive development and stressed, sighing lyricism of the first movement before Bridge ramps things back up in the combative, march-like final movement.

There's a certain Bergian lyrical and harmonic feel about a lot of the writing, though it seems to presage the Violin Concerto as much as look back on Berg's earlier works. The more vigorous rhythmic writing has a Bartók quality about it, and the Intermezzo verges on "night music," though I might term it "twilight music" in this case. If the prevailing mood of the work is post-war grim, it's not all grim, and the various signs of hope make strong impressions. Still, it's not the work you ask the quartet to play at your daughter's wedding.

Frank BRIDGE: Violin Sonata (1932)
:: M. & L. Jardon [Ar Ré-Sé]
Bridge's Violin Sonata is a strange, moody outpouring of uneasy English Expressionism that finds the composer too far gone from his Romantic/pastoral roots to ever return home and not quite at home in the Second Viennese School-although I often think that he sounds more Scriabinesque, especially harmonically, than Schoenbergian. The Sonata isn't as diligently wrought as the Third String Quartet (his masterpiece, I think), wherein each strand of thought is effortfully and conspicuously worked out to the bitter end, nor is it as nebulous as the Second Piano Trio, which implies and insinuates and hints at and alludes to but never quite states, leaving it to the listener to infer that what's being implied and resolve any expressive incongruities: the Sonata steers a new course somewhere in between and manages to balance everything out, if only precariously. The Expressionist excess and general overwroughtness of the quartet is toned down and leaned out, and the modern gestures and effects that often sound contrived and out of place in the trio have been better translated and subsumed into Bridge's musical language. If the Sonata still has a few passages that seem too conspicuously modern and not quite natural to Bridge, they sound like earnest efforts gone slightly awry rather than anything contrived … they are, I suppose, the telltale incongruities of an Old World composer trying just a little too hard to fit into the New World.

The Sonata as a whole doesn't remind me of any works of other composers, but there are occasional flashes of Franck's Violin Sonata, Szymanowski's _Mythes_ and Enescu's violin sonatas in the more Romantic sections. The writing for piano occasionally has a Scriabinesque quality to it, and it often foreshadows the more ghostly writing of Shostakovich (parts of the Piano Quintet and Piano Trio No. 2) and especially Schnittke (the Piano Quintet). As much as I like the work, and as fascinating as it is, I doubt that it will ever be popular: it's simply too odd. If the Sonata were a person sitting at a bus stop, you'd be compelled to stare at him, but you'd be reluctant to sit next to him-I'd probably sit next to some nice, safe work by Ketèlbey instead.

Benjamin BRITTEN: String Quartet No. 2 (1945)
:: Sorrel Quartet [Chandos]
This is my favorite of Britten's chamber works and one of the finest quartets to be had, British or not. The opening of the first movement has a quasi-Arabian/Middle Eastern flavor, but the structure is sonata_ish_ and evolves and revolves around the unlikely interval of a 10th. Other exotic intervals show up as well, and the music sometimes takes up a neo-Mediæval attitude. It apparently has two main themes that generate a third, which all begin to stack up toward movement's end in a buildup to the conclusion. Throughout, Britten exploits a wide range of dynamics, textures and sonorities in settings ranging from delicate polyphony to powerful unisons. The second movement is a tarantella for muted strings that has a manic/frazzled yet somehow focused and eerily atmospheric feel about it, all in a driven/motoric setting with a nicely contrasted trio section. The third/final movement Chacony (which, for all its Purcellian pretensions, might well be subtitled "Variations on a theme that sounds a hell of a lot like the Andante of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony") features 21 variations organized into four sets set off by solo cadenzas from the cello, viola and first violin respectively. Britten explains that each of the four sets explores a particular mode of variation: harmonic, rhythmic, melodic, and "formal aspects."

Elizabeth MACONCHY: String Quartet No. 5 (1948)
:: Bingham Quartet [Unicorn-Kanchana/Regis Forum]
This highly wrought, grimly determined, industrial-strength quartet has an austere passion and intensity that put it in a league, I think, with Ernest Bloch's Third Quartet (1952). Although nothing in the Maconchy can quite match the stunning slow movement of the Bloch, it has the advantage of being consistently strong throughout, with nary a weak stretch to be found, whereas the Bloch gets a bit thin here and there in the faster movements. In any event, both works owe a debt to Bartók, with Maconchy taking a slightly more sinewy tack, Bloch a slightly more rhythmically trenchant one. William Schuman also comes to mind in a general sort of way, as his works of the period have a similarly grim, hard-won character about them. If I occasionally hear a gesture here and there that sort of/kind of reminds me of some other composer-maybe Britten or Shostakovich-it's a tenuous and passing thing at most. All in all, this is an immensely admirable if not immediately lovable work, and one of the best little-known quartets to be had.

Peter Maxwell DAVIES: _Ave Maris Stella_ (1975)
:: The Fires of London [Unicorn-Kanchana]
Ave Maris Stella is a rarefied and mysterious lament meditating on time and death and is composed for a "Pierrot" ensemble of flute, clarinet, violin/viola, cello, piano, and percussion (marimba in this case)-the same ensemble required for Schoenberg's _Pierrot lunaire_. Religious symbolism and Medieval and Renaissance techniques are synthesized in a 20th Century crucible to produce a work "filled with fragile beauty but fraught with danger, a stage for bedeviling demons and consoling angels" (from liner notes). Davies bases the work on his own setting of a Greek text by Roderic Dunnett comprising nine phrases of nine notes. This matrix of phrases undergoes a clever systematic metamorphosis, yielding music that subtly but constantly shifts and evolves as it goes, generating a tense and eerie Medieval religious atmosphere in the process. The music also invokes at various times and to varying degrees the plainchant "Ave Maris Stella" ("Hail, Star of the Sea"), a choice apparently inspired by the composer's experiences on a tiny Orkney farm overlooking the Atlantic Ocean that he'd been restoring around and about the time he was contemplating the work.


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## Quartetfore

Did I miss a mention, but the mature quartet of William Walton is a very fine and interesting work.


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## whispering

Well here I am replying to my own thread. I have spent many happy months exploring the recommendations given to me by so many kindly people on this site. To date my favourite is Vaughan Williams the Phantasy Quintet. Haunting in places, it suits my passing moods in my caring role, having a lot of different textures. My Xmas present to myself has been the Naxos box set on British String Quartets. Please accept my thanks again to all those who took the time not only to reply to my thread, but provided links and thoughtful comments. Next year I am going to explore the back waters of the piano concerto stable. A life time and you can only dip your toe into the classical music universe. Please all have a great Xmas and happy new year. Just a thought but how about a communal thread on what people buy as regards classical music this festive season. Always interested in what others do, that is where new interests are born.


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## sonance

Whispering - Thank you very much for your feedback. I'm happy that you found music close to your heart.

Regarding your suggestion of talking about purchases with festive classical music: sorry, I have to pass. There is almost no Christmas music in my collection. And of the few nativity CDs I remember only Caresana:










An example: La pastorale





I guess this is not what normally is considered as Christmas music. Hopefully other posters will step in and make some suggestions or talk about their recent purchases. My last purchase had been "Jeux" by Vytautas Barkauskas, a Lithuanian composer who is said to be as famous as the other Baltic composers Pärt or Vasks. Judging by the number of recordings this doesn't seem to be true. But I like his music very much.










playlist:





There is a thread "Latest Purchases" in the forum "Classical Music Discussion". Maybe this will also be of interest to you?

Exploring the piano concerto stable will be a great task. I wish you many satisfying discoveries and many hours of joy.

Thanks a lot for the seasonal greetings. To you as well: Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year.


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## MotoPerpetuo

One of my loved English pieces: Lament for two violas by Frank Bridge.





Composer Frank Bridge (1879-1941) wrote the Lament1 for two violas as part of a pair of viola duos, which were debuted on March 18, 1912, with the composer and Lionel Tertis performing.
The performance, which took place at Bechstein Hall (now Wigmore Hall), was part of a concert featuring the works of four young British composers: Cyril Scott, Benjamin Dale, York Bowen, and Bridge. No holograph of the Lament has been found, but sketches exist (upon which this edition is based) in the Parry Room Library at the Royal College of Music in London. An edition by Paul Hindmarsh was performed on February 12, 1980 (the work's second known performance), at the British Music Information Centre by Michael Ponder and Thomas Tichauer.
In the sketches of the Lament it is fairly easy to decipher the composer's intentions, despite the "sloppy" writing. In this edition I have tried to be as faithful to Bridge's notations as possible.
Any editorial changes have been clearly marked with footnotes, in parentheses or brackets, or with dotted lines.
Lament is clearly an important work in the viola duo literature, especially the vast body of solo and viola ensemble repertoire of the early-twentieth-century British composers, thanks to the great violist Lionel Tertis, who commissioned and inspired them.


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