Pipings and Bowings
Michael HURD (1928-2006)
Violin Sonata (1979 rev 1985) [13:23]
Five Preludes for piano (1989) [7:12]
Sonatina for recorder and piano (1964 rev 2002) [7:53]
Three-piece Suite for recorder and piano (2004) [4:39]
Robin MILFORD (1903-1959)
Prelude for violin, cello and piano Op.92 (C.1948) [3:39]
Three Airs for recorder and piano Op.109 (1956) [4:43]
Fantasia for String Quartet in B minor Op.74 (1945) [7:13]
Sonatina for recorder and piano in F major Op.107 (1956) [5:53]
Christmas Pastoral for recorder and piano Op.111 (1957) [2:02]
Dick BLACKFORD (b.1936)
Concerto for recorder and string quartet (2007) [18:09]¹
John Turner (recorder); Peter Lawson (piano); Richard Howarth (violin); Jonathan
Price (cello)
The Manchester Chamber Ensemble¹
rec. November-December 2009, Whiteley Hall, Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester
MÉTIER MSV28522 [73:09] 
Michael Hurd’s chamber music is very approachable indeed. The Violin Sonata
heads a quartet of works written for small forces and for solo piano. None
proves less then engaging and enjoyable. Written in 1979 and revised six years
later it’s actually, at only thirteen or so minutes, his most extensive chamber
work. It’s got a lyrical, Les Six sort of appeal, and contains a very
brief but ardent slow movement, topped by a finale of charming and light hearted
variations; slightly folksy too. The Five Preludes, for piano, are compact
and valuable. They range from a quite austere Invention, to a laid-back waltz,
and include an ascending and descending triadic chorale.
By comparison the Sonatina for recorder and piano is an early work, written
in 1964 and revised in 2002. Maybe it reflects some of the influence of Lennox
Berkeley, and there’s warm melodic appeal throughout. The slow movement is
especially lovely, and John Turner turns to the descant recorder for the vitality-plus
finale. Turner does the honours for Hurd’s last work, the 2004 Three-Piece
Suite (nice title) for recorder and string quartet. It shows no diminution
in communicative qualities, or in terms of lyricism and wit, not least in
the gawky dance finale.
Robin Milford is represented by a quintet of works. The Prelude was written
for Vaughan Williams’s 80th birthday (Milford, who committed suicide,
outlived the much older man by only a year). The Three Airs are light
recorder and piano pieces with strong baroque and folk infusions, but the
Fantasia for quartet, written in 1945, has stronger allegiances, its seven
minute length proving quite harmonically varied within its compass; an expressive,
highly attractive, indeed moving little work. Milford’s Sonatina for recorder
and piano has some ingenious and attractive dances – all brisk – and the Christmas
Pastoral is a two-minute charmer.
The odd-man-out is Dick Blackford, born in 1936 and still very much with us.
His Concerto for recorder and string quartet is a buoyant, uplifting experience
– totally unpretentious but well crafted for the forces. It too has strong
baroque cadences, and mines a rich lyrical seam. The third and fourth movements
are the longest – the latter is an exciting Allegro vivace – but things
come together in the Lento postlude with its reflective nostalgia and the
return of baroque motifs to complete the circle.
The recordings and performances are excellent. Those fond of the pastoral-dance-baroque
patterns in British music will enjoy this selection.
Jonathan Woolf
Those fond of the pastoral-dance-baroque patterns in British music will enjoy
this selection.