《Shorter Pieces for Violin and Piano》

Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979)

Rebecca Clarke was a famous British female composer. Many of her short pieces are brilliant and persuasive, such as the following three pieces: Lullaby, Chinese Puzzle, and Midsummer Moon. Lullaby Written in 1909, Lullaby is full of the romantic tradition, using a repetitive rhythm and a slow continous melody, it meanders through a small range of notes, giving the listener a great sense of tranquility. The beginning and end of the melody’s range is in the middle and low registers of the violin, contrasting starkly with the middle section’s flat high figures. The piano accompaniment steadily continues throughout the entire piece, swinging back and forth to create a hypnotic effect, displaying how music still possesses the magic to drive emotion even with a limited tonal range, volume and contrast. It seems as if the piece is an attempt to awaken European societies from the stagnated lack of progressive thought after war. Chinese Puzzle This piece was written in 1921 for violin and piano. The following year Clarke completed an arrangement of this piece for viola. In her autobiography, she recalls the tune coming from a Chinese friend of the family. This recording is the violin and piano version of the piece. The violin plucks out a very Chinese style melody. The quiet pentatonic melody naturally displays the rich history and culture of the Chinese, as well as the introspective, conservative personality and sagacious temperament the Chinese cultivated. Midsummer Moon Midsummer Moon was a piece written for Hungarian violinist Adila Fachiri (1886-1962) . It was premiered at London’s Wigmore Hall on Dec. 5, 1924. The piece is filled with the sense of a hazy atmosphere. The acoustics hover around the mysterious chordal harmonies of Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) , and you can also hear influences from Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) and Claude Debussy (1862-1918) , showing how Clarke was also greatly influenced by 20th century composers. The piano outlines the second theme, which is taken from a British folk song. The harmonic effect at the end of the piece is rich and beautiful, sufficiently showing Clarke’s diverse compositional style. It goes without wonder that Clarke is often said to be a British impressionist composer. An E. Pomphilon violin made in 1668 was used to record these three little pieces. The instrument is amply able to express the unique character of each piece. Each is vivdly true to life, regardless of whether it is meant to be calm, exotic, obscure or vague.