Rebecca
Clarke (1886-1979) is undoubtedly the best-known
female composer of her time, at least in the English-speaking
world. She may be the best-known of all after Clara
Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn.
Today she is best known for her Sonata for Viola,
one of the cornerstones of that instrument's repertoire,
but her Piano Trio is a work of equal quality.
The present collection includes neither of these, however,
concentrating instead on a handful of previously unrecorded
works for strings with and without piano.
These works are of slightly variable quality, though
there isn't a moment of music here that isn't attractive
or doesn't offer its rewards.
Her musical language has its basic grounding in Brahms
and, to a lesser degree, Fauré. Her two string
quartet movements of 1924 and 1926 also have significant
echoes of Debussy and Ravel. Though the resulting musical
language is a fine one and entirely Clarke's, it is
not strikingly original.
The music on this CD is really very good, and receives
expert, persuasive readings. In fact, it makes me wish
there were quite a lot more of it.. Unfortunately there
isn't. Clarke, one of the finest and most sought-after
violists of her time, didn't write very much. Why?
The following quotation offers an explanation and might
even shed some light on one of the reasons female composers
have been uncommon until recently. (The quotation is
taken from A Rebecca Clarke Reader (Indiana
University Press), the first and, I think, only book
focussing on Clarke. I found it on the Rebecca
Clarke Web site.)
"There's nothing in the world more thrilling
[than composing], or practically nothing. But you
can't do it unless—at least I can't; maybe that's
where a woman's different—I can't do it unless
it's the first thing I think of every morning when
I wake and the last thing I think of every night before
I go to sleep. And I have it on my mind all the time.
And if one allows too many other things to take over,
one is liable not to be able to do it. That's been
my experience." —Rebecca Clarke, interview
with Robert Sherman, 1976
Her small output means that those who enjoy her music
should seize every opportunity to experience what she
did leave us. This CD is a must-have.
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