Although all of these
works were composed when Herbert Howells
was still in his 20s, they nonetheless
show a composer who has already found
his voice, who has developed both a
strong musical personality and an excellent
grasp of how to phrase what he wants
to say.
The Piano Quartet in
A minor was submitted by Sir Charles
Villiers Stanford, Howells’s teacher
at the Royal College of Music, for inclusion
in the Carnegie Foundation publication
series. It had the honour of being the
first score, and the only one by an
as yet unfamiliar name, to be published
by the Carnegie Trust. It is dedicated
to the "hill at Chosen and Ivor
Gurney who knew it". Chosen, or
Churchdown Hill is a great mound of
a hill between Cheltenham and Gloucester
that offers spectacular panoramic views
and was a favourite haunt of Herbert
Howells and the friend of his youth,
Ivor Gurney. The quartet reflects this
most quintessentially English of places
and also the warmth and affection which
Howells held for both this place, and
for Gurney. The Richards Piano Quartet
give a passionate and intelligent performance
of this glorious work, creating great
sonority, and allowing the nostalgia
and yearning to shine through. Theirs
is a wonderfully rich sound, and they
instil in the music an incredible intensity,
and a searing beauty. The ensuing Fantasy
String Quartet is likewise played
with immense sensitivity, and the Rhapsodic
Quintet, that concludes the disc - like
the Quartet, a work in one movement
- is given a superbly sinuous clarinet
line that is expertly performed by Thea
King.
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. Exemplary performances
of extremely moving, accomplished and
utterly gorgeous pieces!
Em Marshall
for details
Richards Piano Quartet (Bernard Roberts
(piano); Nona Liddell (violin); Jean Stewart
(viola); Bernard Richards (cello)) with
Thea King (clarinet) 
