Chamber Music of William Busch

Three pieces for violin and piano were written as individual works and, as such, they can be presented separately or, if given collectively as a suite, played in any order. Busch wrote his Passacaglia for violin and viola in 1939, the score takes the form of a decisive, four-bar theme followed by thirty variants upon it. These mini-variations range widely in character, from trenchant and forceful to airy and smooth. A Memory for cello and piano was written for Elizabeth Poston. Busch subtly conveys the idea of a reminiscence suggested by the title with simple, lightly sketched ideas presented with an air of hazy nostalgia. Eventually, the feeling of distance and reserve created in the opening portion of the work is replaced by a more troubled mood. The music ends in sorrow with a heartfelt, steeply descending sequence for unaccompanied cello followed by the merest hint of the opening material. The Quartet for piano and strings is the most substantial of William Busch’s chamber pieces. Although the composer’s lyrical gifts are much in evidence, the four movements are also rigorously concise. Considerable dramatic rewards are gained from the creative tension between the music’s unforced expressivity and the formal rigour with which Busch’s powerful themes are worked out. The Suite for Cello and Piano is among Busch’s most searching and variegated instrumental works. In a postwar assessment of the score, The Times’ critic noted that its four pieces ‘reveal a sensitive and interesting mind’. Elegy for cello and piano exploits fully the stringed instrument’s lyrical qualities and capacity for rich, autumnal colours. The work begins with an extended soliloquy for unaccompanied cello and the cellist continues to preside over the entire opening section, which features only a couple of brief interjections from the piano. © Paul Conway

1: I. Cantilena: Larghetto Con Molto Espressione
2: II. Caprice: Molto Vivace, Leggiero E Ritmico
3: III. Lacrimosa: Andante Con Molto Espressione
4: Passacaglia for Violin and Viola
5: A Memory for Cello and Piano
6: I. Allegro Con Brio
7: II. Largo, Molto Cantabile Es Espressivo
8: III. Molto Vivace Ed Energico
9: IV. Andante Non Troppo, Con Solennita
10: I. Prelude: Grave, Risoluto E Con Intensita
11: II. Capriccio: Allegro Giocoso
12: III. Nocturne: Adagio, Molto Tranquillo Ma Con Espressione
13: IV. Tarantella: Presto, Con Ferocità
14: Elegy for Violoncello and Piano

Composer: William Busch

Number of Discs: 1

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