Bridge String Quartet
HERITAGE HTGCD 113
Wood’s quartets are enjoying a renaissance. Hard in the heels of the recent issues on Somm comes this enterprising recording by the Bridge Quartet. The only overlap is the 16 Variations on an Irish Folk Tune, which benefits from the Bridges’ flexible approach, and a little more space around the sound than the London Chamber Ensemble on Somm.
The other independent piece here, the Quartet-Movement in G minor, apparently exists in two versions. Neither were used in a complete quartet, although Ian Copley identified a draft of a scherzo in A minor among Wood’s papers, which might perhaps have been appended.
The single movement comprises a substantial eight minutes that languished for years. Despite its publication in 1929 in Edward Dent’s posthumous edition, it appears that the first performance was not for almost a century. The current performers gave its first hearing at Wood’s college (Gonville and Caius) to mark the composer’s centenary in March 2026, and their warm account is very welcome.
Much of Wood’s writing is not too far away from his Irish heritage, and hints of that country’s folk-music keep trying to break through. The first movement of the short fifth quartet, first performed in 1916, also shows a marked influence of Brahms. It moves swiftly from darkness to light, commencing with a doleful sighing on cello that works its way up through the ensemble. The tonal argument is easy to follow, as short modulating passages cadence directly onto pure triads.
The ensuing genial Allegretto, rather more transparent in argument, acts as a kind of minuet and trio, with syncopated figures for the first violin and a more lively central section in compound time. The final movement is based on another carefree jig, The Devil in Dublin, which almost brings us into the realms of light music; but as the argument progresses, the semitonal inflexions pay homage to the opening material, and Wood’s neat sidesteps (sometimes enharmonic) are a delight.
The Bridges, while clearly relishing the fun, are perhaps a little too well-behaved at this hooley, and there are also some moments of slightly suspect intonation in the later pages, but not enough to worry about.
The sixth and last quartet, generally acknowledged as Wood’s finest, follows a similar format. The Scherzo is appropriately sparkling, and the Adagio, a set of variations in an opulent F-sharp major, is a refulgent meditation. I do not know if Jeremy Dibble has identified the source or if the work is is simply full of Irish inflections, but it seems to suggest The lark in the clear air without ever quite getting there.
A most rewarding issue.
Review by Andrew Plant