Belfast-born Ian
Wilson, now in his mid-forties, already has a varied and substantial
output to his credit. This includes two chamber operas, several
concertos and orchestral works. The chamber pieces number eight
string quartets, three string trios and three piano trios not
to mention the vocal music.
Wilson’s works often
bear a title suggesting some extra-musical inspiration although
the music is never descriptive or programmatic. Examples include
the concerto for organ and orchestra Rich Harbour (1994/5),
the Third Piano Trio Catalan Tales (after Miró)
of 1996 or the beautiful piece for flute and piano Spilliaert’s
Beach (1999).
His String
Quartet No.4 titled Veer is no exception, although
the title – this time – does not tell us much. The insert notes
mention that “the work’s title is not only a pun on the German
for ‘four’, but an acknowledgement that after it he [Wilson]
‘veered’ away from the style of this piece and others like it”.
I must, however, confess that I do not know Wilson’s music deeply
enough to endorse this explanation. On the other hand, it is
much more useful to know that the movements of the Fourth String
Quartet are inspired by two paintings by Edvard Munch: the celebrated
Scream and Melancholy. The grinding dissonance
and anguish of the first movement is aptly offset by the almost
expressionist elegiac character of the second panel.
Wilson made his
home in Belgrade in 1998 but the NATO bombing campaign forced
him to return to Ireland one year later. The three string quartets
recorded here were written in quick succession after his return
to Ireland. The String Quartet No.5 “...wander, darkling”,
completed in 2000 undoubtedly reflects the impact of these frightful
events, again without any attempt at the programmatic. In this
work, and for fairly obvious reasons, Wilson enlarged his expressive
palette by resorting to spectral techniques, which greatly add
to the expressive strength of the music. This may not be as
visceral in impact as, say, that of Penderecki’s celebrated
Thrène pour les victimes d’Hiroshima, but nevertheless
effectively articulates an oppressive, ominous mood.
On the other hand,
the String Quartet No.6 “In fretta, in vento”
- the Italian title roughly translates as ‘hastily, in the air’
- “alludes to those victims of the World Trade Center attack
who faced the terrible dilemma to throw themselves from the
building or be burned alive”. Wilson’s grandmother, to whom
the Sixth String Quartet is dedicated, died soon after the work’s
completion. The elegiac, often sorrowful, at times other-worldly,
character of much of the music must therefore come as no surprise.
It movingly evokes a deep sense of loss.
The Lyric
Suite, subtitled Seven Elegiac Pieces, was composed
some time later on a commission from RTÉ Lyric FM. The seven
short movements may be played separately or together. This work
is a bit different from its predecessors, although the music
clearly comes from the same pen. The music is on the whole more
straightforward, with a greater emphasis on melody than in some
of the other quartets recorded here, so that the music is again
strongly expressive. The composer is also particularly successful
in bringing variety to the music, so that the work’s movements
may easily be listened to as a suite without any feeling of
monotony.
These performances,
recorded in the composer’s presence seem splendidly assured,
fully committed and entirely convincing. This ensemble is new
to me, but I certainly look forward to hearing more from them.
Wilson’s first three
string quartets, played by the Vanbrugh Quartet, were – and
hopefully still are – available on Black
Box BBM 1031. This and the disc under review provide a fine
introduction to Ian Wilson’s personal and strongly expressive
sound-world.
Hubert Culot
The Callino
Quartet 
