English Early Modern composer Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley [1903–1989] wrote three string quartets. The first two were written in 1935 and 1941. He then waited nearly thirty years, until 1970 before composing the Third.
This four movement work opens in a dreamy, atonal fashion with the whole ensemble contributing to the essence. There are some melodies, but I wouldn’t call it melodic, mainly due to the gently dissonant note selection. A deep cello plays a significant role in underpinning this abstract mood before allowing the violins to express an elaborate soundscape. This is seemingly intellectual music and I find it rather attractive. Two violins fade to an ending.
The second movement, marked allegro vivace, is quite short and continues in the style of the previous movement. The level of abstraction is again high and the music non-representational. There is a fascinating section with the violins being particularly expressive, in a Modern sense. The end is a series of pizzicato strokes.
The next movement is marked lento, beginning with two shrill violins gently creating a static melodic mood. The ensemble join in, but do not disrupt the gentle atmosphere. Slowly the intensity does increase, but I would say that the sound ebbs and flows. Now the violins quiver and a loud passage quickly recedes into another abstract soundscape, with slightly dissonant harmonies being the order of the day. A strong cello pushes the boundaries and the music becomes serious for a time. Now it drops away and we return to the opening strains of the two violins – this is a fabulous piece of writing. The cello and viola rejoin, leading to a strong faded chord.
The finale commences with thrusting string sounds, and is almost bouncy. Again atonality is featured with a passage of pizzicato. A violin duet develops a structure before all rhythm is gone and the mood is lamenting – still more fascinating writing and I am really taken with this mood. Of course it doesn’t last and the energy returns, albeit for a short time. A strongly harmonised melodic section takes over, with overlapping violin lines. The conclusion is no surprise with a rich chord being present.
This is a fine piece, as are the two earlier works.
The review CD Lennox Berkeley String Quartets 1-3 is performed by the Maggini Quartet and is on Naxos, so it should be available. My copy is from the 20-CD set of the Maggini Quartet’s British String Quartets – highly recommended.
This CD is on Spotify, earsense and YouTube.
Listenability: Non-confronting, but beautifully abstract work.