Parry: The Complete Music for String Quartet Archaeus String Quartet

• Hubert Parry (1848 - 1918): String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor:
• 1 String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor: I. Allegro con fuoco 05:33
• 2 String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor: II. Andante 07:06
• 3 String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor: III. Allegro vivace 06:49
• String Quartet No. 2 in C Major:
• 4 String Quartet No. 2 in C Major: I. Larghetto - Allegro di molto 08:26
• 5 String Quartet No. 2 in C Major: II. Andante espressivo 06:10
• 6 String Quartet No. 2 in C Major: III. Scherzo. Allegro con brio 02:51
• 7 String Quartet No. 2 in C Major: IV. Finale. Vivace 07:16
• String Quartet No. 3 in G Major:
• 8 String Quartet No. 3 in G Major: I. Allegro 09:03
• 9 String Quartet No. 3 in G Major: II. Andante 06:24
• 10 String Quartet No. 3 in G Major: III. Allegro molto 07:10
• 11 String Quartet No. 3 in G Major: IV. Allegro moderato 09:41
• Scherzo in C Major (Completed by J. Dibble):
• 12 Scherzo in C Major (Completed by J. Dibble) 04:57
• Total Runtime 01:21:26

Info for Parry: The Complete Music for String Quartet

Released in the 100th Anniversary year of Sir Hubert Hastings Parry's death, this is the first ever recording of his complete music for string quartet. Although the mighty Quartet no. 3 has been published and recorded once, Quartets 1&2 have languished unperformed and certainly unrecorded for many years. The early quartets are very much influenced by Mendelssohn and are quite delightful; the charming Scherzo in C, which Parry did not complete one hundred percent, is fully realised in an edition by Professor Jeremy Dibble (who also provided a performing version of Quartet no. 2), without whose invaluable help this recording would not have taken place. This double album was recorded in November 2017 in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Salehurst, East Sussex and our recording engineer was once again the superb Tony Faulkner. This recording is an absolute must for lovers of English music but also for those who enjoy early 'Romantic' chamber music and is a fascinating document of how Parry's voice as a composer developed over the years. Utterly amazing that these pieces have been overlooked, it's now time for them to be brought out into the sunshine!

"The Archaeus Quartet play each of these works with energy and conviction'.........'the sound is transparent and natural and these players certainly catch the music's drama'.........'in Parry's anniversary year it fills a gap in the recorded repertoire very handsomely" (Gramophone Magazine)

Ann Hooley, violin
Rosemary Lock, violin
Elizabeth Turnbull, viola
Martin Bradshaw, cello

The Archaeus Quartet
is a well-established group, formed in 1990, which has enjoyed a busy schedule from its very first season, performing in music clubs and arts centres throughout the UK and at the Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room in London. The group has toured in Europe and played at festivals including Warwick, Greenwich, King’s Lynn, Wooburn and at the ICA in London.

As well as performing from an extensive traditional concert repertoire, the Archaeus has a strong commitment to the performance of rarely heard but high quality works of the 20th Century. Premieres include Ruth Crawford Seeger’s Piano Quintet, Antonin Tucapsky’s String Quartet, the London premiere of Leonard Salzedo’s 7th Quartet, and world premieres of his 8th and 9th Quartets.

“After I had heard my 7th String Quartet played by the Archaeus Quartet on October 30th last year I was so pleased with their performance that I decided to write a new quartet especially for them. I started it on October 31st and completed it exactly five weeks later, on December 5th.” - Leonard Salzedo

This work received its premiere at the Wigmore Hall in June 1995 when the Archaeus made its highly successful London debut. Their fruitful friendship and collaboration with Salzedo resulted in two further Quartets and the Sonata for Violin and Viola.

CD recordings include the Quartet by Minna Keal; Quartets by York Bowen with the Quintet for bass clarinet with Timothy Lines; Quartets by

Ethel Smyth, Amy Beach and Susan Spain-Dunk; Leonard Salzedo; and Quartets by Cyril Scott. All five CDs have been received with critical acclaim. The recording of Salzedo’s Quartets and the Sonata for Violin and Viola (performed by its dedicatees Ann Hooley and Elizabeth Turnbull) and released on Dutton Epoch (the recording produced by Mike Purton with Tony Faulkner as Recording Engineer), was selected as Editor’s Choice in the Gramophone Magazine.

The Archaeus plan to complete recording the Quartets of Leonard Salzedo with MPR. The first of these next CDs, comprising Quartets 1 & 5 and the world premiere of no.10, is soon to be released.

The aspiration to play the complete Beethoven Quartets has always been important to the Archaeus. Having performed this cycle in Oxford, Cumbria and London in the late 90s the group is now giving further cycles in Eastbourne, Salehurst and Brighton.

Booklet for Parry: The Complete Music for String Quartet