# Ireland - String Quartet 1&2 / Holy Boy (SQ review)



## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

John Ireland composed both his quartets in 1897, when he was just 18 and a student at the RNCM (he was born just outside Manchester). The First Quartet was written to impress his idol, Charles Stanford, but it didn't work with Stanford saying that it was "dull as ditchwater". However, Stanford did later have the work performed by a student quartet and he took Ireland under his wing to study with him in a 4 year scholarship. 
It would be easy to follow the biographical line on Ireland and suggest the first quartet is wholly indebted to Beethoven and Brahms and the 2nd owes a debt to Dvorak. Whilst there is some evidence of these influences here, Ireland added his own unique voice too and drew heavy inspiration from English history, poetry and landscapes. These are not classic quartets but they are pleasant works with the 2nd quartet being the stronger of the two and containing a lovely, lyrical nocturne movement. After the war, Ireland destroyed almost all of his student works except the two String Quartets, which he was said to have had a special affection for. The other work here is his celebrated 'Holy Boy' which remains one of Ireland’s most popular works and which sounds particularly poignant when transcribed for string quartet. Holy Boy was (naturally) written on Christmas Day in 1913, 16 years after the quartets and was later arranged for string quartet and in several other forms due to its popularity.

The reason I've clumped these 3 Ireland works together is due to the fact that all three of the above works have only been recorded a few times and are on the same disc. The first recording of this trio of works to appear was on ASV by the *Holywell Ensemble *and whilst these arent 'bad' recordings they are on the dutiful rather than the interesting side, even though the sound is perfectly fine. However, the other recording by the *Maggini Quartet,* on Naxos, is far more successful. They are recorded well and play with better tone, a fresher approach and more characterful ensemble in an attempt to make the most of the two quartet's limited music. This is hands-down the best recording to get of all three pieces.


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