Bowen Fantasie Quartet for Four Violas
York Bowen was born at London, England on 22 February 1884 and died in London on 23 November 1961. The Fantasie Quartet for Four Violas was written for Lionel Tertis after he and Bowen (who was also a pianist of great renown and was a frequent recital partner of Tertis) returned from a concert tour of Germany in late 1907. The piece received its premiere on 3 March 1908 at a musical evening arranged by the Society of British Composers at the publisher Novello & Co. The performers were Tertis, Eric Coates, James Lockyer and Phyllis Mitchell. Tertis performed this piece many times during his career, including a performance on 7 December 1929 featuring composer and violist Rebecca Clarke playing second viola along with Dorothy Jones and Winifred Copperwheat. Bowen wrote many other works for Tertis, most notably the Viola Concerto Op. 25 (1907), two sonatas for viola and piano (Op. 18 & 22) and a Phantasy for viola and piano Op. 54 (1918).
Music for multiple violas dates back at least to the days of Anton Wranitzky (1761-1820), who wrote a Cassatio for five violas among other works. One can conjecture that music written for viol consorts in 16th century England is a forerunner of this genre of same-instrument chamber music; Bowen’s decision to label this work as a fantasie is a clear allusion to the repertoire of the viol consorts. It is Lionel Tertis who was directly responsible for expanding the modern repertoire of this instrument combination. Besides the Fantasie, other notable works Tertis commissioned include Benjamin Dale’s Introduction and Andante Op. 5. Maurice W. Riley, in his two volume tome The History of the Viola talks a bit about this unique corner of the chamber music repertoire:
Chamber music for violas, which excludes other instruments, exploits the full range and the various tone colors of the instrument. Ensembles of violists promote a sense of independence and pride beneficial to the performer’s ego. Participation in a choir of violas results in a particular pleasure and satisfaction, together with a congenial association with other musicians who have mutual instruments.
A review of the Bowen Viola Concerto in the Morning Post stated that “He [Bowen] appears to have a predeliction [sic] for the viola, having completed two sonatas for the instrument, also a duet for organ and viola and a quartet for four violas.” Bowen did indeed write well for the viola, and in an obituary written by Tertis in the Royal Academy of Music magazine spoke of his gratitude to Bowen for writing so much for the viola:
York Bowen is indeed a great loss to our Alma Mater – the Royal Academy of Music – I have known him for over sixty years. He was a brilliant pianist and prolific composer. He was an example of how one should plan out one’s daily life systematically, and conscientiously use every minute of it to good purpose. … He and the late Benjamin Dale were the closest friends. They were both crazy about Wagner and went to every Covent Garden performance. I shall always feel indebted to both of them for their generosity in writing compositions for the viola. … Bowen was always full of exuberance and this characteristic permeated his works. He could play most of the instruments of the orchestra, and added to all these talents he was a very fine pedagogue.
The Fantasie Quartet can be seen as having a ternary arch form: a slow introductory A section followed by a central B section which is a little faster and then a slow A’ section which is based on material from the first slow section. The central B section itself is split into an ABA’ that hints somewhat at sonata form. The piece is full of chromatic harmonies which are an obvious homage to Wagner (with an English twist); the exuberance that Tertis mentioned is also definitely contained in this piece, especially in the middle section.
-Program notes by Dr. Daniel Doña