Jean Robley (violin); Olive Davidson (violin); Joyce Cook (viola);
Betty Macrae Moir (violoncello)
WILLIAM BARRAND (baritone)
Sir John B. McEwen , principal of the Royal Academy of Music, composer, and theoretician, has written fourteen string quartets, of which the ' Biscay ' is one of the most effective and charming. The three movements are fluent and athletic in style, and the harmonic idiom belongs to the Brahms period, seasoned with a little modern decoration to give the melodic ideas an up-to-date dress. Melodically the music is full of invention and the working out of such material carried out with clarity and ingenuity.
The first movement is restless in mood and obviously aims at depicting a lighthouse in rough weather. The slow movement is for the most part tranquil, but works up to a climax of exaltation. The Finale bubbles over with high spirits and nautical humour, thus forming a brilliant conclusion to a very notable work.