The title of Julia Holter’s sixth album appears to be a play on words from The Beatles’ song Sometimes…but there is no reason to suggest that in the accompanying press release.
Instead the title could be more a reference to motherhood, and the birth of her daughter – as well as the presence of loved ones lost. What is certainly present is Holter’s physical connection with music, and a sense of being in the moment – rather than looking back in a dreamlike state as some of her work has done. As she says, “It’s about being in the passionate state of making something: being in that moment, and what is that moment?”
What’s the music like?
Something…has an experimental feel, and does on occasional feel like a dream sequence, experienced out of the body. This being Holter, there is melody at its core – and a strong inner power, experienced on the heady opening trio. Sun Girl, These Morning and the title track are rich in colour, Holter’s soft vocal matched by dappled textures, an agile flute part and – on the latter – a moving saxophone solo.
Most striking of all is the song Spinning, which starts like a misfiring record turntable, but establishes itself as a highly distinctive track. The backing is a kind of oblique waltz, the foil for Holter’s vocal, a mixture of powerful singing and conversational asides.
Ocean is both beatless and bottomless, as its title suggests it should be – with upper melodic lines bringing a new age feel to the surface. Talking To The Whisper has similar depths but with beats added – and connections that feel primal, in and around the flurries of flute and percussion. Who Brings Me offers calm and contemplation, closing thoughts in the company of clarinet and rich synthesized sound.
Does it all work?
It does – but because this is complex music, several listens are recommended to get the most from Holter’s music, revealing more of its extraordinary layers.
Is it recommended?
It is – a characteristically intense addition to Julia Holter’s output, music that makes strong physical and emotional connections with its listener.
For fans of… Julianna Barwick, Laurel Halo, Joanna Newsom
1.Andante con moto – Allegro vivace 2.Andante con moto quasi allegretto 3.Menuetto: Grazioso 4.Allegro molto
Listen
written by Ben Hogwood
Background and Critical Reception
The third of Beethoven’s ‘Razumovsky’ quartets provides the light to the relative darkness of its predecessor, set in sunny C major in contrast to E minor. Jan Swafford documents it as ‘another of the 1806 works written at a gallop. Like the Fourth Symphony and the Violin Concerto, it is absolutely of a piece and a splendid piece, but more compact in material than its colleagues in the set, with less complex interrelations than the others. It conservative elements, however, do not imply a retreat to the eighteenth century. All the Razumovskys are distinctive pilgrims on Beethoven’s New Path.
The celebrated musicologist Carl Dahlhaus devotes more time to this ‘Razumovsky’ quartet than the other two in his book Beethoven: Approaches to his Music, sharing Ludwig Fincher’s view of the piece ‘as a reflection, from a composer’s point of view, of the social position of the string quartet in the years following 1800.’
For Dahlhaus, “the quartet makes use of symphonic or concertante means as a way of presenting itself to the general public, but at the same time it incorporates those same means in a skilled artistic construction that only connoisseurs can appreciate.” Swafford has the emphatic last word. “For Beethoven’s part, having cleared his throat with op.18, with op.59 he was ready to stand up to his predecessors and models, ready to prove he was their equal on their home ground.”
Thoughts
There is a mysterious introduction to this work that – for this listener at least – harks back to the uncertainty of Mozart’s string quartet in the same key, known as the Dissonance. The harmony is not so otherworldly here but there is still an atmosphere of uncertainty, one set right by the start of the Allegro, even though Beethoven’s genial theme doesn’t immediately set down roots in C major. It does however start off a highly attractive Allegro section, where the quartet enjoys the fulsome writing, while songful and virtuoso exchanges comfortably exist side by side.
The Andante has roots in A minor, C major’s closest ‘relative’, but moves around a little restlessly. There is the spirit of a slow dance but one that never fully settles, as though the first violin is changing partners at irregular intervals. The cello offers a rhythmic base and counterpoint through pizzicato figures.
The Menuetto (not marked as a Scherzo) has a grace one might associate with Haydn, from one of the Op.33 quartets, the melodies freely passing between instruments as the music flows beautifully. This is the ‘chamber’ Beethoven, whereas the finale – following seamlessly without a break – is definitely the ‘public’ Beethoven. Here he is showing off in the best possible way, with a full-blown fugue showing a complete mastery of the form. It generates a terrific energy which must have been a whole new experience for the first audiences. The quartet ends with a flourish, and you can imagine Ignaz Schuppanzigh bowing for all he was worth in the first performance before collapsing in a heap at the end!
Recordings used and Spotify links
Melos Quartet (Wilhelm Melcher and Gerhard Voss (violins), Hermann Voss (viola), Peter Buck (cello) (Deutsche Grammophon) Borodin String Quartet (Ruben Aharonian, Andrei Abramenkov (violins), Igor Naidin (viola), Valentin Berlinsky (cello) (Chandos) Takács Quartet (Edward Dusinberre, Károly Schranz (violins), Roger Tapping (viola), Andras Fejér (Decca) Tokyo String Quartet (Peter Oundjian, Kikuei Ikeda (violins), Kazuhide Isomura (viola), Sadao Harada (cello) (BMG) Végh Quartet (Sándor Végh, Sándor Zöldy (violins), Georges Janzer (viola) & Paul Szabo (cello) (Valois) Amadeus String Quartet (Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel (violins), Peter Schidlof (viola), Martin Lovett (cello)
You can chart the Arcana Beethoven playlist as it grows, with one recommended version of each piece we listen to. Catch up here!
1.Allegro 2.Molto adagio ‘Si tratta questo pezzo con molto di sentimento’ 3.Allegretto (second section marked ‘Maggiore – Thème russe’ 4.Finale. Presto
Listen
written by Ben Hogwood
Background and Critical Reception
Beethoven is thought to have written the three Razumovsky string quartets between April and November 1806 – during which he redefined the parameters of a form shaped by Haydn and Mozart. When you stop to consider he was working on the Fourth Piano Concerto, the Violin Concerto and the Fourth Symphony at the time, it offers some perspective on his capabilities as a composer!
The first ‘Razumovsky quartet’ in F major drew parallels to the Eroica symphony, but the second is a very different work, set in E minor – a key seen by Lewis Lockwood to be “a bleak and distant key in the tonal system of the period”. As Jan Swafford goes on to note, “The beginning is as curiously fragmentary as the previous quartet’s was curiously sustained. The feeling of the minor mode here is not tragic but mysterious, with startling harmonic jumps.”
As for the second movement, contemporary composer and friend Carl Czerny recalled Beethoven saying that the E-major slow movement fell into his mind “when contemplating the starry sky and thinking about the music of the spheres”.
Thoughts
There is high drama in the first movement of this quartet, the polar opposite to its predecessor. The sweep of the first two chords is unlike anything we have heard in Beethoven’s music for string quartet to date – the first chord with 9 notes, the second with 7. Together they make a gesture whose impact is felt throughout the work, and the follow-up – a kind of stunned statement – also carries thematic importance.
The first movement moves between this loud dynamic and soft, dramatic responses, the atmosphere tense and febrile. Whenever the intensity grows the chords reappear in different guises, and there are some striking discords as the movement heads to its thoughtful close.
The slow movement is placed second, a much richer affair than the first quartet – but equally expressive, the four instruments showing off a very full bodied sound at climactic points. Again, slow music for Beethoven has a heavenly air in its stillness – though a central section disturbs this piece with harsh double stopped violin, imparting the atmosphere of the first movement.
The scherzo is both elegant and serious to begin with, though at times becomes full-bodied and heavy. The trio, on the other hand, is light footed, its perky tune shared between the instruments. The finale’s dotted rhythms provide the backing for a folksy tune on the violin, with the unmistakable feeling of turning for home. Though starting in C major, E minor is the obvious destination, and so it proves with music of terrific power and poise. It’s easy to forget just four instruments are involved!
This is further evidence of Beethoven’s total reimagining of the string quartet, elevating the medium to a higher and much more ambitious plane. Each quartet is now a fully fledged drama, with a huge dynamic range and more meaningful emotions than we have yet heard from any composer.
Recordings used and Spotify links
Melos Quartet (Wilhelm Melcher and Gerhard Voss (violins), Hermann Voss (viola), Peter Buck (cello) (Deutsche Grammophon) Borodin String Quartet (Ruben Aharonian, Andrei Abramenkov (violins), Igor Naidin (viola), Valentin Berlinsky (cello) (Chandos) Takács Quartet (Edward Dusinberre, Károly Schranz (violins), Roger Tapping (viola), Andras Fejér (Decca) Tokyo String Quartet (Peter Oundjian, Kikuei Ikeda (violins), Kazuhide Isomura (viola), Sadao Harada (cello) (BMG) Végh Quartet (Sándor Végh, Sándor Zöldy (violins), Georges Janzer (viola) & Paul Szabo (cello) (Valois) Amadeus String Quartet (Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel (violins), Peter Schidlof (viola), Martin Lovett (cello)
The quartets listed above rise to the technical challenge offered by Beethoven, each one capturing the symphonic structure and scope of the piece. The Amadeus Quartet deliver a heartfelt if slightly glossy reading, while those by the Tokyo, Borodin and Melos Quartets are ideally poised and played. The Végh Quartet is a classic recording.
You can chart the Arcana Beethoven playlist as it grows, with one recommended version of each piece we listen to. Catch up here!
Also written in 1806 Wölfl Piano Concerto no.5 ‘Grand Concerto Militaire’ Op.43
Next up String Quartet no.9 in C major Op.59/3 ‘Razumovsky’
1.Allegro 2.Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando 3.Adagio molto e mesto – attacca 4.Thème Russe: Allegro
Listen
written by Ben Hogwood
Background and Critical Reception
In 1801, Beethoven published his first group of string quartets, the six quartets Op.18 confirming his prowess in yet another form of music – while suggesting he had the potential to take this form much further.
Just five years on, that potential was realised in dramatic fashion through a set of three substantial string quartets dedicated to the Russian ambassador in Vienna, Count Andreas Razumovsky. The new works were nearly half as long again as the Op.18 set, and showed many ways in which the string quartet was challenging the boundaries of its very form.
To help communicate his new ideas Beethoven had at his disposal the violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh, in the words of the Grove Dictionary “the first musician in history to make his main reputation as a chamber-music specialist”. Jan Swafford notes how “this portly, silly-looking violinist was the indispensable partner in Beethoven’s remaking of the medium…Schuppanzigh and his men allowed Beethoven to take quartets wherever he wanted to go with them.”
It is thought Beethoven wrote the three Razumovsky quartets between April and November 1806. They are, as Swafford observes, ‘the most symphonic quartets to that time, harder on both players and listeners than any quartet before’.
Several commentators liken the impact of the first quartet in the set to that of the Eroica symphony. There are musical parallels for sure – the elevation of the cello to take on the first theme, the resolute and optimistic mood of the first movement, the willingness to stretch the structure like never before, pushing the tolerance of players and audiences.
Thoughts
The cello’s heightened role is immediately evident as the instrument leads of with the main theme – not just any theme, but an expressive, lyrical one giving it a whole new importance in the quartet. Nor is the theme dissimilar to the first movement of the Eroica, though the mood is less bullish.
There is an assurance about Beethoven’s writing, a kind of inner serenity as the musical dialogue unfolds, and also a sense that the real drama is still to come. His writing is so fluent in the first movement, each melody seemingly inevitable and with a really strong sense of unity between the quartet members. The middle of the movement becomes more mysterious, the first violin with a figuration suggesting a bird on the wing as the other quartet members engage in dialogue of the theme.
The second movement begins with a remarkably innocuous statement on the cello, a single note rhythmic figure – but of course Beethoven makes something distinctive out of it, like a subtle but insistent knocking on the door. By the time the full quartet play it, we have a fully fledged tune and enough energy to power the whole of the scherzo. The music then goes for a ‘wander’, Beethoven exploring all manner of far flung tonal areas with an appealing wit. The rhythmic and melodic figures with which the movement began are always kept in mind, however, and before we know it the original key has returned.
The slow movement is very solemn, sorrowful even, its theme played mournfully by the first violin on a supportive bed of thick harmony. Yet there is strength in that supporting playing, which comes through in powerful dialogue between the violins and a touching elegiac theme on viola. There is a very tender passage halfway through, beautiful but tinged with sadness in D flat major before working its way back.
The slow movement leads beautifully into the finale, whereupon the sun ‘reappears’, the cello once again starting an upbeat, dance-inflected theme. This is the most playful music we have heard so far, as though Beethoven has shaken off his troubled feelings for the time being. In a master stroke in the coda he brings the main theme back at half speed, implying a solemn finish – before a gust of wind blows the main theme back through at a rate, and over the finish line.
Recordings used and Spotify links
Melos Quartet (Wilhelm Melcher and Gerhard Voss (violins), Hermann Voss (viola), Peter Buck (cello) (Deutsche Grammophon) Borodin String Quartet (Ruben Aharonian, Andrei Abramenkov (violins), Igor Naidin (viola), Valentin Berlinsky (cello) (Chandos) Takács Quartet (Edward Dusinberre, Károly Schranz (violins), Roger Tapping (viola), Andras Fejér (Decca) Tokyo String Quartet (Peter Oundjian, Kikuei Ikeda (violins), Kazuhide Isomura (viola), Sadao Harada (cello) (BMG) Végh Quartet (Sándor Végh, Sándor Zöldy (violins), Georges Janzer (viola) & Paul Szabo (cello) (Valois) Amadeus String Quartet (Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel (violins), Peter Schidlof (viola), Martin Lovett (cello)
There are some finely cultivated versions of the first ‘Razumovsky’ quartet on record. It is a shame that Quatuor Mosaïques did not get as far as the set, given the quality of their Op.18 interpretations, but any of the quartets below will more than satisfy. The Melos and Takács spend more time over the slow movement, but generally speeds are similar.
You can chart the Arcana Beethoven playlist as it grows, with one recommended version of each piece we listen to. Catch up here!
Also written in 1806 Weber Concertino for horn and orchestra
Next up String Quartet no.8 in E minor Op.59/2 ‘Razumovsky’
Here is a nod in the direction of the English Music Festival, returning next month for 2024. For the first time, all festival events will be held in Dorchester-on-Thames. The concerts will take place in Dorchester Abbey, while the talks will be held in the historic Village Hall. The details, copied from the press release, are below:
The seventeenth annual English Music Festival (EMF) returns to Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire from Friday 24 May until Bank Holiday Monday 27 May 2024. Celebrating anniversaries of two of Britain’s greatest composers across the event, the opening concert, given by the BBC Concert Orchestra and conductor Martin Yates, features Stanford‘s Clarinet Concerto with soloist Michael Collins, and Holst‘s ‘Cotswold’ Symphony. Vaughan Williams’s ‘Richard II’ Concert Fantasy is given a World Premiere, alongside works by Doreen Carwithen and Frederick Delius. Orchestral, chamber and choral concerts continue throughout the weekend.
The English Music Festival celebrates the brilliance, innovation, beauty and richmusical heritage of Britain with a strong focus on unearthing overlooked or forgottenmasterpieces of the late-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century.
“Each year audience feedback proclaims the latest EMF the best yet and we are delighted to be able to continue developing and improving our now much-loved Festival”, says Em Marshall-Luck, Festival Founder-Director. “This year’s is typical EMF programming, in the range from solo piano recitals to full orchestra and choral concerts, and from early music through to contemporary, while we retain our focus on the EMF’s raison d’etre, those overlooked and forgotten works by British composers of the Golden Renaissance.
“We are delighted to have been able to attract top performers from abroad, with musicologist, tenor and English-music expert Brian Thorsett joining us from the USA and brilliant pianist Peter Cartwright from South Africa, where the EMF has a collaboration with the University of Witswatersrand in Johannesburg. I am particularly looking forward to their concerts, as well as-in particular-the Vaughan Williams premiere with the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the first modern performance of a gorgeous work by Sir Thomas Armstrong, as well as pianist and Radio 3 presenter, Paul Guinery‘s late-night recital, which celebrates the release of his third disc of Light Piano Music for the Festival’s own record label, EM Records.” The works of Gustav Holst (1874-1934) have been at the heart of Founder-Director Em Marshall-Luck’s programming at the EMF and remain a perennial favourite amongst audiences, with many memorable performances of the composer’s often overlooked major works having been given, as well as recorded by the Festival’s independent recording arm, E M Records. This year, the composer’s early Symphony, ‘The Cotswolds’, takes centre stage.
One of the leading musicians of his generation – as performer, conductor, composer, teacher and writer, Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) had a profound effect on the development and history of English music. In addition to the Directorship of the Royal College of Music, amongst other august musical establishments, and his influence on several generations of composition students who went on to became household names, Stanford was a prolific composer, completing seven symphonies, eight string quartets, nine operas, more than 300 songs, 30 large scale choral works and a large body of chamber music.
The centenary of his death this year provides an opportunity for evaluation of some works from the large canon that have fallen under the radar. For the EMF’s opening concert, there will be a rare performance of Stanford’s Clarinet Concerto featuring one of today’s leading exponents of the instrument, Michael Collins.
WORLD PREMIERES
First performances include the World Premiere of Ralph Vaughan Williams’s ‘Richard II’ Concert Fantasy; the complete incidental music the composer was commissioned to write for Frank Benson’s 1912-13 production at Stratford, which will be performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra under Conductor, Martin Yates.
Vaughan Williams first discovered Shakespeare as a child when he was given the complete edition by his relative, Caroline Darwin, and ‘Richard II’ become a favourite. The composer took Shakespeare’s many references to English folk-ballads as supporting his own ‘national’ approach to music, saying “Shakespeare makes an international appeal for the very reason that he is so national and English in his outlook.” He went on to set and write over 20 Shakespeare texts and incidental music, often using folk-songs and ballads, and the well-known ‘Greensleeves’ appears in ‘Richard II’.
CHORAL CELEBRATIONS
The EMF regularly showcase live choral music. This year The Godwine Choir and Holst Orchestra conducted by Hilary Davan Wetton bring a programme of popular favourites to Dorchester Abbey, including a first modern performance of Edward Elgar’s ‘Give Unto the Lord’, and Excalibur Voices perform works by Coleridge-Taylor, Milford, Dyson, Bainton, Walford Davies and others.
INTERNATIONAL APPEAL
Returning to the EMF is South African pianist Peter Cartwright, who joins violinist Rupert Marshall-Luck in recital to perform works by Holst, Farrar, Stanford, Bliss and Howells.
American tenor Brian Thorsett and pianist Richard Masters, who enjoy a particular association with British music, are making their first appearance at the EMF with a programme of Finzi, Ireland, Frank Tours and Somervell.
RELAXED LISTENING
John Andrews raises the baton for the English Symphony Orchestra in a programme of works by Finzi, Delius, Howells, Milford, Dyson and Warlock, while Piano Trio, Ensemble Kopernikus, performs Delius, Holst, Rebecca Clarke, John Ireland and Percy Hilder Miles. Pianist and British music specialist, Phillip Leslie, performs works by Rawsthorne, Bowen, Dyson, Leighton, and John Ireland’s masterpiece, ‘Sarnia’.
Rosalind Ventris and Richard Uttley will be performing works for viola and piano including Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata. Rosalind’s album ‘Sola’ is currently nominated for a BBC Music Magazine award in the 2024 ‘Premiere’ category.
Always a popular fixture, late-evening recitals are a special feature of the EMF, with the ancient warmth of Dorchester Abbey providing the perfect setting for audiences to relax in and enjoy a performance from The Flutes & Frets Duo – Beth Stone (historical flutes) and Daniel Murphy (lute; theorbo and guitar), and for a discovery of the lighter side of British composers when pianist Paul Guinery returns to the keyboard. Informative talks include those on anniversary composers, Stanford and Holst, as well as Farrar and Bliss.
This year, the Festival is remaining in Dorchester-on-Thames for the duration of the long weekend.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Further information including the full programme is available on the EMF’s website
Tickets go on sale via the website from 22 March (8 March to Festival Friends) and by means of a postal booking form. Full Festival and Day Passes are also available. Tickets for individual concerts will be available on the door, subject to availability
Arcana.fm 