English Late Romantic composer York Bowen [1884–1961] wrote three string quartets. There is no evidence of any modernity in his work, even though many composers of his era were affected by the music of Schoenberg and his followers.
I have been hammering the Contemporary era of late, so I have selected the composer’s Third Quartet for its Romantic sensibility. The work, in three movements was written in 1919, a year after his Second Quartet. Interestingly, he never returned to the genre again, except for some incidental pieces in the 1940s.
The work opens with a rich carpet of harmonies supporting a sensitive violin line. The music appears to take off but it is only a brief foray before returning to a pastoral passage, with the two violins weaving amongst each other. Now the music does take off, firstly in tempo and then in intensity – again it is not a long passage. The violins are quite luxuriant, this is music not of its time. However, it is most attractive. The composer continually has small gently frantic interludes, if such a thing is possible, interspersed with slow, consonant sections. The two violins are quite conversational as they revisit the sound of the opening. There is a sense of gentle, lilting peace here. Nearing the end, the music builds into a rich fanfare, before the feeling relents and moves through an alluring period that fades to an end. The last sixteen bars are magnificent in their beauty and control.
The next movement is marked poco lento e espressivo, which is too long for the glossary. Let’s just say ‘a little slow, and played with expression’, and so it is. A melancholy mood is set from the beginning, as the violin expresses lamentingly in its low register, although there is occasionally a hint of optimism. This stately passage is played out over another canvas of brooding harmonies as the two violins combine with some poignant phrases. A brief pause leads the first violin into the shrill register, with the cello providing pizzicato support. Now both violins fashion a delicate passage of harmonised lines. I believe I could categorise the feeling as rubato, as there is no movement. Having said that, a pulse appears, soon blanketed by the intensity of the two violins, as they reach out. A resonant, arco cello is featured in a bridge between two passages. The tempo recedes and the sound of wonderful harmonies is heard. A solo violin now leads to a subtle accompaniment. I am finding this music to be reminiscent of the slow movement of Samuel Barber’s First Quartet, which has attained popularity arranged as Adagio For Strings, the quartet version being composed in 1911. The same feeling prevails here – high praise indeed. I have not heard many composers who evoke this delicacy in their music.
On to the final movement which opens as a pizzicato strut with busy violins. The pizzicato ceases and a fine descending phrase, played by the whole ensemble leads into a spirited violin romp with constantly changing accompaniment. A solo violin line is answered by the cello and the music moves forward in a gentle tempo. A recapitulation of the opening is very charming and moves into an energised section which features constant descending violin phrases. A pinch of solo pizzicato brings a return of the energy and a measured passage, again of great beauty, even at tempo. This joyful mood is sustained until a final flourish concludes.
This is positive, uplifting even, strangely conservative music for its time. It doesn’t have the sense of the great Romantic composers of the 1800s, but seems to contain a more personal voice. As mentioned, this is not modern music.
The review CD, String Quartets and Phantasy Quintet, performed by the Archaeus Quartet on the Naxos label also contains the Second Quartet, which has a similar sound to the Third. This disc is not easily available on Amazon but it can be had at Presto Classical and ArkivMusic.
The CD is on Spotify and the music can be heard on earsense and YouTube.
Listenability: Music for a rainy day.