Search - Frank Bridge, The Raphael Ensemble, Louise Williams :: Frank Bridge: Sextet; Quintet

An acquired taste

Daniel R. Greenfield | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | 11/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Frank Bridge was an English musician and composer who lived during the first half of the 20th Century. Perhaps one clue as to his character is the fact that he played a viola -- a supporting role in chamber ensembles. In addition, he inherited a strong sense of discipline and a no-nonsense approach from his father. My impressions of him is that he must have been a rather serious man, even a little dour, somewhat proud, though not haughty. The style of his chamber music reminds me of Reger's; it's what you might call melodramatic. Listening to it pushes one back into the earlier days of the 20th Century; one can sense that this music might have been used as the score of an old black-and-white British film made during the 30's. In that sense, there is a strong element of nostalgia. Initially I did not like this album; it seemed overly melodramatic. But now, after having listened to it many times, I've come to really admire it. It is very consoling music. It is heartfelt, but not mawkishly sentimental. It conveys a sense of calm endurance amid the turbulence of life. The playing of the Raphael Ensemble is flawless; it's as though the music was composed for them and they own it. In summary, the music on this album is an acquired taste; it will probably not strike your musical palette as all that great the first time it is heard. But the album does bring considerable rewards with repeated listenings."

Who was Frank Bridge and why does he linger in melody.....

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 06/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Aside form Benjamin Britten's luminous composition 'Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge' very little is known about this 20th century British composer. But here at last we are treated to three very fine examples of his musical output and the works make us take notice of a mind filled with lush melodies that knew how to create compositions of rich flavor and color. If a comparison is needed to jolt the memory, then Bridge's music is very much related to that of Ralph Vaughn Williams and Edward Elgar - only with more brevity of line and arc.



The Raphael Ensemble has just the right rich tone to bring these works to life. While the 'String Sextet, for 2 violins, 2 violas & 2 cellos in E flat major' is played with some frequency in the festival circuits, the 'String Quintet, for 2 violins, 2 violas & cello in E minor' is here premiered for recordings. Both works are thick with interlacing melodies that seem at first to be perhaps a bit too centered in the mid range until further listenings open the spectrum of Bridge's compositional ideas. These are works of strong melodic lines that, yes, do have the British sound (the difficult to define sound that seems to describe the landscape of the British Isles!), but that also demonstrate Bridge's fine sense of economy of development.



As an added bonus Asdis Valdimarsdottir and Louise Williams perform the 'Lament for 2 violas' in a single Adagio espressivo movement. Bridge was a violist and knows his instrument well. The result is a romantic elegy that is not unlike the mood of Vaughn Williams' 'Flos Campi'.



This is a fine recording of some music new to most and one that is rewarding to get to know. Grady Harp, June 06



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