Scottish Early Modern composer Robert Caldwell Crawford [1925-2012] wrote four string quartets. It was quite difficult to find anything about him until I eventually came across a small PDF, announcing his death, which can be found here. This document contains interesting comments on his string quartets, and I found it to be quite rewarding. I am going to discuss his First Quartet which was composed in 1949.

The work opens in a moderate tempo as the first violin expresses with great emotion from its entrance, gaining wonderful support from the ensemble. After a slightly hesitant melodic moment, a brief rhythmic passage leads into another beautiful violin section with a gentle level of introspection being provided by the accompaniment, which ever so slowly diminishes in intensity. This leads into a brief, impassioned passage, which builds into a climax. Various moods unfold, with the first violin being the constant point of reference, and the cello often creating a musical space all of its own. The ending is slightly ambivalent as if the violin has somewhere else to go, but doesn’t manage to make it, as it just drifts away. The duality in this movement is startling, with the mood constantly moving between the tender and the impassioned, sometimes even alluding to the abstract. This has a certain forward looking presence that is unusual for a piece from 1949.

An adagio cantabile (slowly, in a singing style) tempo introduces the second movement. Shimmering, singing, hymnal lines make for a marvellous entrance. Long melodic lines are harmonised to perfection and for me, this is classic British music. A walking cello extends this mood as it becomes almost extreme in its pastoral nature – these are two words I wouldn’t normally put together. The violin is most enticing and imparts a unique texture to the music. Nearing the end, it becomes frantic, frenzied even, and stops abruptly.

The next movement features a restless violin line to open, which is developed to some length by the composer. Again this is music of a measured, abstract nature. A brief rhythmical, highly charged passage gives way to the previously heard solemn walking cello lines with the violin constructing self-referential melodies. Now the restless feeling is heard and the music evokes the sound of bats emerging from a cave with frantic, virtuosic harmonised violin lines which eventually taper off to a quiet conclusion that flows straight into the next movement.

The finale, with its held over note is marked mesto, which is very Bartok, and drifts in a labyrinthine manner evoking dark spaces. A second violin adds a harmonised line to this walking jazz-style melody. Now string sound effects emerge from the background to briefly support this marvellous soundscape. The two violins seem to be using micro-tones as there is a slight degree of dissonance in their expression. The appearance of the cello is most interesting as it mimics the strange violin lines, all of which is played out in a ¾ time signature. A return to busy, strongly harmonised violins is brief and the sense of mystery is continued to a sedate conclusion.

I found the three works on the review CD to be totally fascinating – the composer drawing me into the unique vision that was his musical world.

This disc, titled Robert Crawford: String Quartets Nos. 1-3, is on the Delphian label, performed by the Edinburgh Quartet. If this was the only music they ever recorded, it would be enough – this is a superb effort. The CD is available on Amazon UK and Presto Classical, Amazon US has it as a download only.

Unfortunately the disc can only be heard on Spotify, as far as I am aware.

Listenability: A transcendent Early Modern work.