Howells Piano Quartet SRCD292 [JQ]: Classical CD Reviews

In his splendid booklet note the late Christopher Palmer describes Howells memorably as "the last of the great English romantics whose tongues were loosened by folksong". The three works gathered on this CD are all suffused with a wonderful English character. Although no folksongs are used the thematic material is manifestly influenced by the treasure trove of native popular melody that had been so effectively mined, preserved and liberated by Vaughan Williams, Holst and others.

The Piano Quartet may well have the unique distinction of being the only piece of music dedicated to a hill. It bears the inscription "to the hill at Chosen and Ivor Gurney who knew it." Chosen Hill is a prominent feature of the landscape between Cheltenham and Gloucester and it is situated just two or three miles from where I live. Over the years since 1916, when Howells wrote his Quartet, many buildings, many of them houses, have been built on or around Chosen Hill. However, in the early years of the twentieth century, when Gurney and Howells were taking their first steps in musical education together at Gloucester Cathedral, the seven or eight miles between Gloucester and Cheltenham would have been almost entirely rural and amongst the farms and hamlets Chosen Hill would have been an even more impressive landmark than it remains today. More importantly the views from the crest of the hill, stretching over miles of open countryside on a clear day, undoubtedly fired the imagination of impressionable creative young men such as Howells and Gurney.

So affection for his surroundings as well as for his friend was the spur for Howells in this Quartet. It’s an ambitious work, cast in three movements The substantial first movement seems to me to be especially suggestive of the English countryside. There’s an air of sophisticated naivety to the music, which has a wonderful harmonic richness – and a richness of texture as well. The melodic material sounds free and uninhibited and the whole movement exudes confidence. The tranquil conclusion sets the scene perfectly for the slow movement, which is a slow processional. This movement contains some truly beautiful music and it’s played with nobility and sensitivity. The finale is an excellent foil to what has gone before. Much of the music in this movement is sprightly and dance-like and on the occasions when Howells explores a lyrical byway he does so without sacrificing overall momentum. The Quartet is a fine composition. As Christopher Palmer says, it’s "a rich piece, fluently written and full-bloodedly expressive." The members of the Richards Piano Quartet are splendid advocates for it.

The Fantasy String Quartet is in one movement. It is quintessentially romantic and, like the Piano Quartet, it sounds to be rooted in folksong. Actually, once again all the melodic material is original so a more accurate description would perhaps be "inspired by folksong". It’s a lovely, free-spirited piece and it’s very well performed by a group of players who combine strength and beauty in their reading. One passage above all ravishes the ear, namely a spell of quiet musing led by a husky viola around 6:00. There’s another performance of this piece on a Naxos disc that I reviewed a while ago. That too is very good but this Lyrita account is fully its equal. The Quartet is the only work that is common to both discs so the Howells enthusiast will surely want to have both.

The Rhapsodic Quintet, in which Howells combines a clarinet with a string quartet, is another one-movement work. Christopher Palmer aptly describes the piece as "a continuous self-generating stream of song". The songful nature of the music is emphasised by the woody tones of the clarinet, excellently played here by the late Thea King, and the contrast of timbre between the clarinet and the string ensemble is stimulating to the ear. The Quintet is not as pastoral in tone, nor is it quite as obviously English in tone, as its two companion pieces. It’s no less attractive than the other two works but I find that sometimes there’s a pleasing degree of pungency in the music that’s not so apparent elsewhere. The last few minutes (from around 9:00) are gorgeous with a long, melting clarinet melody leading the argument as Howells brings the Quintet to a very beautiful close.

In her enthusiastic review of this disc my colleague Em Marshall summed up the quality and calibre of these works most eloquently. I can do no better than to quote her summary: "There is something incredibly English about these works, and they sum up all the poetry and beauty, and, occasionally, the melancholy and harshness, of the English countryside, depicting it in all its moods and through all forces of nature."

This is another reissue from Lyrita that’s as welcome and self-recommending as it is important. All admirers of Herbert Howells’ music will want to have these first rate performances in their collection.

John Quinn

And a review of the same coupling in differing versions on Metier