London Chamber Ensemble
SOMM 0692
Charles Wood (1866-1926) is now chiefly remembered as a teacher and Church composer. (There is an informative YouTube lecture about him.) If the idiom of his String Quartet no 6 (1915-16) is mostly 19th century, then no matter. The first movement opens with a mellifluous flowing theme with a whiff of folksong – maybe Irish or English – and while plumbing no great depths, offers seven and a half minutes of civilised and accomplished discourse.
The pizzicato-led scherzo is more obviously Irish, as a ghostly reel alternates with more reflective passages.If it felt a little long for its length that may be matter of unfamiliarity. The slow movement puts a soulful lament through three variants before the dying fall, and if anything might have merited a longer and more searching treatment.
The Irish flavour returns in the cheerful finale, playful but not lightweight, and offering a very satisfying conclusion. This is far from the dry professorial exercise I had feared (it must be as enjoyable to play as it is to hear) and it is excellent news that Somm plan recordings of Wood’s remaining quartets.
Howells String Quartet no 3 is familiar from previous recordings, and as such is almost the quintessential work of sun-drenched idyllic pastoralism. However, here we have a reconstruction of the first of two earlier versions, written in 1916, lost, and then rediscovered.
Expecting a familiar work with a few small changes it was a shock to find that the first movement is thematically radically different. If still pastoral in tone, its remoteness is less idyllic than isolated, with a turbulence and unrest absent later. The scurrying scherzo – all spring winds and passing showers – is unchanged. The heart of the quartet is the slow movement, and if thematically close to the revision, it feels cooler and less impassioned: while it works well enough, Howells’ later thoughts seem to dig deeper – or perhaps these performers have just not yet lived with this version long enough? The boisterous finale again uses similar material to its successor and broadly resembles it – but less expansively, ie it is done in six minutes compared to nearly ten elsewhere. The result is almost, but not quite, a whole new work – and certainly worth investigating.
Two short pieces for piano and violin are also arranged for strings; one (improbably?) a Russian lament, the other the quintessentially English Chosen (as in Chosen Hill).
As ever with Somm performances, notes and sound are all excellent, making this a highly auspicious start to a very welcome series.
Review by Kevin Mandry