Bridge & Britten: Works for Viola Hélène Clément, Dame Sarah Connolly, Alasdair Beatson

• Frank Bridge (1879 - 1941): Cello Sonata in D Minor, H 125 (Arr. for Viola by Hélène Clément):
• 1 Bridge: Cello Sonata in D Minor, H 125 (Arr. for Viola by Hélène Clément): I. Allegro ben moderato 10:19
• 2 Bridge: Cello Sonata in D Minor, H 125 (Arr. for Viola by Hélène Clément): II. Adagio ma non troppo 12:47
• There Is a Willow Grows aslant a Brook, H 173 (Arr. Benjamin Britten):
• 3 Bridge: There Is a Willow Grows aslant a Brook, H 173 (Arr. Benjamin Britten) 08:28
• Three Songs, H 76:
• 4 Bridge: Three Songs, H 76: I. Far, far from each other 03:36
• 5 Bridge: Three Songs, H 76: II. Where is it that our soul doth go? 03:37
• 6 Bridge: Three Songs, H 76: III. Music, when soft voices die 02:25
• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): Elegy:
• 7 Britten: Elegy 06:50
• Lachrymae, Reflections on a Song of Dowland, Op. 48:
• 8 Britten: Lachrymae, Reflections on a Song of Dowland, Op. 48 13:10
• Total Runtime 01:01:12

Info for Bridge & Britten: Works for Viola

Hélène Clément, violist with the Doric String Quartet, is the current holder of the viola previously owned by both Frank Bridge and Benjamin Britten. Her ambition, quickly formed once she first played this instrument, has been to create a testament to both composers and to the instrument that binds them together. This recording, in which Hélène is joined by the pianist Alasdair Beatson and Dame Sarah Connolly, is the realisation of that ambition.

Hélène writes: ‘Frank Bridge owned and played the beautiful viola made by Francesco Giussani, in Italy, in 1843. Benjamin Britten was Frank Bridge’s most beloved pupil, and Bridge gave him the viola as a parting gift when Britten had to embark on a ship’s journey to the United States at the outbreak of the Second World War. The composers were never to see each other again. To record the viola repertoire of both composers, producing the very sound that they would have had in their ears, the sound that inspired their love for the instrument and its special language, became a priority for me.’

“… a glorious disc, search it out.” (Gary Higginson, British Music Society)

Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano
Helene Clement, viola
Alasdair Beatson, piano

No biography found.

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