Delius & Smyth: String Quartets

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Full marks to the Villiers Quartet for bringing this new and challenging repertoire to life. — Gramophone Magazine, January 2023

Release Date: 14th Oct 2022
Catalogue No: 8574376
Label: Naxos
Length: 65 minutes

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Smyth: String Quartet in E minor, Op. 1

Work length39:35

$9.00

$11.60

$15.75

Villiers Quartet

I. Allegretto lirico

Track length12:44

$3.00

$3.85

$5.25

II. Allegro molto leggiero

Track length5:24

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

III. Andante

Track length12:15

$3.00

$3.85

$5.25

IV. Allegro energico

Track length9:12

$2.00

$2.60

$3.50

Delius: String Quartet (1888, incomplete)

Work length25:50

$6.00

$7.75

$10.50

Reconstr. D.M. Grimley
Villiers Quartet

I. Allegro assai

Track length10:17

$3.00

$3.85

$5.25

II. Allegro vivace

Track length4:41

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

III. Adagio, con molta espressione

Track length5:17

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

IV. Finale. Agitato, allegro

Track length5:35

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

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This album is the first recording of the complete 1888 Delius String Quartet, following the quartet’s previous Naxos release of the original 1916 Delius String Quartet (8.573586) where it was coupled with the Elgar Quartet. The String Quartet in E minor by Ethel Smyth, one of the most innovative and original figures in English music, has a masterful coherence and consistency. With eloquent writing for the viola in particular, it is both playful and reverential, and ends with a flourish – forthright, bold and uncompromising, like Smyth herself. Delius wrote the early String Quartet in 1888 but it was rejected for performance and he was later to reuse the Scherzo for his mature Quartet of 1916–19 (8.573586). In 2018 the score of the two opening movements of the 1888 Quartet, long assumed lost, reappeared at auction and have been edited and reunited with the final two in this premiere recording, which adds significantly to our understanding of Delius’ early compositional directions. The Villiers Quartet is one of the most recognised quartets in the UK for the performance of British music, releasing acclaimed recordings of works by Elgar, Delius, Fricker, Alwyn, William Sterndale Bennett, David Matthews and Kuljit Bhamra, MBE. In 2020 the quartet gave the world premiere of the 1888 Delius String Quartet, featuring movements from original versions uncovered by Professor Daniel Grimley from Oxford University. The broad curiosity of the Villiers Quartet and its passion for teaching and performing have made the ensemble a valuable resource for students and audiences alike. Inspiration comes from the heart of the Villiers Quartet’s philosophy: to believe in the art of string quartet.

Reviews

January 2023

Full marks to the Villiers Quartet for bringing this new and challenging repertoire to life.

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