Search - Margaret Fingerhut, Academy St Martin-In-The-Fields :: Bax: Octet / String Quartet / Threnody and Scherzo / In Memoriam (1916)

Bax's Sunny Side

Thomas F. Bertonneau | Oswego, NY United States | 05/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Aficionados associate Sir Arnold Bax (1883 - 1953) with orchestral music, especially with the symphony, of which he wrote seven, not including a number of works that qualify as symphonies in all but name. Yet Bax also wrote a good deal of keyboard music - four piano sonatas, many solo sketches, and a Sonata for Two Pianos - and much ensemble music. The chamber-music scores sometimes correspond to classical models, more or less. The three string quartets are collectively a good example: the first two are in three and the third in four movements. Otherwise, Bax preferred a broken or mixed ensemble and might propose a work in a single, tone-poem-like movement or in two symmetrical panels. The group of works anthologized on the Chandos disc currently under discussion exemplifies the observation and shows how, when he worked with a largish broken consort for his palette, Bax could blur the distinction between chamber music and orchestral music. The instrumentation of the Octet (written 1934 and first performed 1936) is: French horn, piano, and string sextet - horn and piano providing much of the score's distinctive color. The two movements are a slow "Meditation" (Molto Moderato) and a fast "Scherzo" (Allegro). In the "Meditation," the horn gives out languorous song, imitated by the keyboard and by the strings, which forms the basis of the movement; the atmosphere often resembles that of the "Lento" of the Third Symphony, where again the solo horn plays a central role. Bax establishes the "Scherzo" on hunting-calls, with lots of scurrying motion in the keyboard-and-strings support. The String Quintet (written 1933 and first performed 1935) for two violins, two violas, and cello, unlike the three quartets, presents itself as a single-movement work of some compression. (It lasts a little more than eleven minutes in the recording.) The texture is more complicated than in the Octet, despite the comparatively homogeneous palette. Both thematically and structurally the Quintet indeed resembles orchestral works such as the tone-poems "November Woods" or "The Tale the Pine Trees Knew." The plan might be described as "Calm - Storm - Return to Calm." Few people think of Bax under the idea of terseness, but the Quintet qualifies for that adjective. It is a pithy and memorable work. The Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Harp, and String Quartet (sometimes also called Septet, 1936) shares with the Octet a delight in instrumental color; conforming to the expectations inherent in its longer name, it unfolds over three movements - "Allegro Moderato," "Lento," and "Moderato Giocoso." The dour moods of the Quintet fall by the wayside: the temperament of the Concerto is lively and endearing throughout - Bax at his most positive and extrovert. Ravel and Debussy had pioneered ensemble music using winds and harp and Bax builds on a decidedly French esthetic in these three lovely movements. The two-panel Threnody and Scherzo (1936) for Bassoon, Harp, and String Sextet with Double Bass is another octet although not so dubbed. Bax wrote prolifically. According to the booklet notes, he forgot about the Threnody and Scherzo after the first performance and later could hardly recall having written it. Even so, it endears: the Hellenic atmosphere carries over from the Concerto, the oboe lending a somewhat darker hue to the prevailing atmosphere and endowing the proceedings with occasional hints at grotesquery. Bax never stints in his music: he seems to pour as much of himself into minor, even throw-away scores as he does into his big, public ones, like the symphonies. The last item on the program, "In Memoriam," is the earliest - having been written in 1916 in the aftermath of the Irish rebellion and the British settlement thereof, in which several of Bax's Irish friends lost their lives. It belongs to the "Celtic Twilight" that Bax cultivated before 1920 or so. This fine CD adds significantly to a collector's appreciation of Bax. There is a complementary CD on Hyperion, featuring the Nonet, roughly contemporary with the Octet. Recommended."

Engaging & enjoyable

jsa | San Diego, CA United States | 02/17/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although I've owned this collection of Bax chamber music for some time, I only recently began paying serious attention to it. When I initially listened to it, I didn't respond quite as positively as I have to the other Bax chamber music discs in my library, especially the superlative anthologies performed by the Nash Ensemble on Hyperion Bax: Nonet; Oboe Quintet; Elegiac Trio & Mobius on Naxos Bax: Quintet for Harp & Strings / Sonata Flute & Harp. Perhaps this is because of the octet which opens the program and which seemed different from the Bax chamber music I'm so familar with. The fact is, however, that the octet is a wonderfully atmospheric piece, pure Bax, which in retrospect is a perfect opener for this anthology. And the rest of the program is equally delightful - particularly, the three movement concerto, Threnody and "In Memoriam," all of which feature prominent parts for the harp, which Bax wrote very adeptly for.



In summary, this disc will be a pleasant surprise for those who only know the music of Bax through his symphonies and tone poems. And if you're already familiar with and enjoy Bax's chamber music, you won't regret adding this to your collection.



Very warmly recommended."