This is a welcome
disc.
.... the String
Quartet which I have admired for
many years and, in fact, wrote an
article about in the mid 1970s. It
seemed to me then that Bartók's
String Quartet No 5, a veritable
masterpiece, lies behind Rainier's
Quartet written some five years
later. I love its weighty seriousness
in the first movement, the joyful
and gracious vivace, the thoughtful
andante tranquillo and the
concluding presto spiritoso.
... This music has a rare quality
but I cannot tell you what it is.
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Sound Sample:
String Quartet
(1) Allegro molto serioso here
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String Quartet
(2) Vivace leggiero grazioso
here
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String Quartet
(3) Andante tranquillo here
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String Quartet
(4) Andante tranquillo here
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I remember the furore when Quanta
was first broadcast and how the newspaper
critics savaged the piece. .... The
problem was that the music is abstract
and like the superlative String
Quartet it is very serious. Janet
Caxton and her London Oboe Quartet
premiered it and I was impressed by
it then, as I am now. Robin Canter
is the excellent oboist here.
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Oboe Quartet
(Quanta) here
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The String Trio of 1966 is
in one movement and explores the interval
of a major ninth. It is another extraordinary
piece in which Rainier's highly developed
style is heard at its best. It has
an amazing variety that adds to its
interest including bright dissonances,
regular changing metres and rhythms,
a fascinating harmony that usually
avoids the predictability of tonal
centres and traditionalism.
Ploërmel was first performed
at a BBC Promenade Concert in 1973.
It is in eleven short sections alternating
quick and slow music. The title refers
to a place in North West France and
the piece was inspired by local church
bells and early morning light reflected
by the stained glass windows. This
is, of course, a different sound world
altogether from the other pieces on
the disc. The work is not a showpiece
nor is it brassily vulgar but an exploration
of each instrument's potential and
the blending of their respective sounds.
It is a complex and uneasy work.
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Ploërmel
for winds and percussion here
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I find Rainier's
music both challenging and highly
absorbing. And I applaud its originality
and courage.
From the review by
David Wright
