Search - Cyril Scott, Archaeus Quartet :: Cyril Scott: String Quartets Nos. 1, 2 & 4

Cyril Scott at his best

Dr. Richard M. Price | London, UK | 04/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The last few years have seen the appearance of numerous CDs of Cyril Scott's orchestral and piano music. Scott was, however, at his best in his chamber music, and of the three CDs of this that Dutton have issued to date (February 2008) this is the most desirable, since it contains, in the First and Second Quartets, two of Scott's very finest works, which here receive persuasive performances. The First Quartet has obvious debts to Ravel and Grainger; in fact the central movement is a hugly delectable imitation of a Grainger folk music arrangement. The outer movements present something rather rare in Scott -- a tight musical argument, with counterpoint being just as important as harmony; the cyclical form is more convincingly handled than in any other work of Scott's that I know. The Second Quartet is much later (composed c. 1950), and is an impressive example of Scott's late style, with its altogether more astringent and personal harmony; the work has an intensity and poignancy that remind one of John Ireland. The first three movements in particular have a clear and coherent shape, and contrast most effectively with each other, the con legno Scherzo being particularly striking. The Fourth Quartet, in contrast, is a weak work, and one must regret that it was chosen in preference to the much superior Third."