In the other three parts of String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, nicknamed ‘Bologna’, Frank Bridge skillfully navigates between clashing styles that characterise the period between 1900 and 1914 so well. The French influences, like Debussy’s, are particularly notable.
In that same period, the seven years older Ralph Vaughan Williams finished his String Quartet No. 1 in G major, which he revised once more in 1921. You can immediately notice the presence of Debussy and Ravel’s music, but also hints of folk music, due to the joint research into folk music he did with Gustav Holst.
The last movement of String Quartet No. 2 in A minor by Vaughan Williams, composed in the middle of World War II, is a resigned Epilogue based on the elements of the music supposed to accompany a film about Joan of Arc.
Frank Bridge (1879-1941) – String Quartet No. 1 in E minor (1906) “Bologna”
(2) Adagio molto, (3) Allegretto grazioso – Animato, (4) Allegro agitato – Allegro moderato – Adagio molto
Performers: Maggini Quartet
CD: Naxos
Vaughan Williams (1872-1957) – String Quartet in G major (1908/09 – rev. 1921)
(1) Allegro moderato, (2) Minuet and Trio: tempo di minuetto, (3) Romance: Andante sostenuto, (4) Finale: Rondo capriccioso – Allegro molto
Performers: Maggini Quartet
CD: Naxos
Vaughan Williams (1872-1957) – String Quartet in A minor (1944)
(4) Epilogue
Performers: Medici String Quartet
CD: Nimbus Records
