Bridge’s Third and
Fourth String Quartets performed by
the Allegri String Quartet (ARGO ZRG
714, published 1973 – n.l.a.) were the
first major works of his that I ever
heard. They considerably widened my
appreciation of his music, which was
then little known, but for a few songs
and Sir Roger de Coverley
which Britten had recorded. They were
also of significant importance to those
who believed Bridge to be an unjustly
neglected major composer whose general
currency was as "Britten’s teacher".
Since then, I have become an unshakeable
supporter of his major late works such
as the splendid Second Piano Trio and
the powerfully moving Oration.
Compared to his predecessor, the Fourth
String Quartet displays a greater formal
mastery as well as considerable freedom
gained from in-depth experience. The
idiom, often close to Berg and Schönberg,
is remarkably imaginative and harmonically
astringent, rather at odds with the
current trends prevailing in Britain
at that time. Its overtly progressive
character undoubtedly caused Bridge’s
mature music to be overlooked by some
of his contemporaries, except by Britten.
It certainly estranged him from some
audiences and critics. Since then the
true stature of these and other works
has been widely acknowledged, thanks
to Britten’s efforts and to a number
of recordings. The Fourth String Quartet
is unquestionably a peak in Bridge’s
late output, and possibly one of his
finest string quartets. That said, his
four string quartets may be regarded,
each in its own way, as the culmination
of the various stages of Bridge’s musical
progress.
I have for many years
known and admired Alan Bush’s lovely
Suite of Six Op.81 from
an old taped performance, and I have
long been expecting a commercial recording
of this fine piece. It is a more accessible
piece than Dialectic Op.15,
a considerably more substantial work,
for all its concision and tightly-knit
argument. The suite, however, is in
no way a light work. It too is rather
precisely and intricately structured.
The six dances are ingeniously woven
into a continuous musical structure
in which interludes subtly conclude
the preceding dance while preparing
for the next one. From this one senses
a continuously unfolding argument rather
than a mere suite of dances. It is a
really beautiful piece for which this
recording now fills an important gap
in Bush’s discography.
Purcell’s Chacony
in G minor, in Britten’s edition,
is no newcomer to the catalogue. Britten
himself recorded it many years ago (if
my memory serves me well) in the version
for string orchestra. It is a beautiful
piece of dignified, noble music, not
without greatness.
The Bochmann String
Quartet play beautifully throughout,
as they did in the earlier instalments
of Redcliffe’s ‘British String Quartets’
series (of which this is already Volume
3). This is a most welcome and desirable
release that may safely be recommended,
the more so since the Bush piece has
never been recorded before.
Hubert Culot
see also
review by Rob Barnett
MusicWeb
Frank Bridge Pages
Redcliffe
Recording Catalogue
The newly established
Alan
Bush Trust website email info@alanbushtrust.org.uk
Bochmann String Quartet 
