Clarke, "Three Pieces" for two violins and piano DIGITAL
Digital download file includes the piano score and the two violin parts. Purchaser is allowed one download per purchase, so please store it safely on your computer! If you should run into a problem with the download, please contact [email protected] so it can be made right.
Did you know that Rebecca Clarke began her career as a violinist? She switched to viola when Sir Charles Stanford (her composition teacher at the Royal College of Music) made the suggestion so that in orchestra, she would be "right in the middle of the sound, and can tell how it's all done." The Three Pieces-- "Prelude," "Danse Bizarre," and "Nocturne"-- were written in 1909-1910, while Clarke was still an RCM student. Clarke believed the manuscripts were lost, but in 2000 they were found in a box in the back of a closet. This new edition replaces one from 2012 which has not been in print for some years. With it, and the publication of the chamber version of "Chinese Puzzle," all of Clarke's performable music has been published.
I have been in love with these pieces since hearing the wonderful 2003 recording by Lorraine McAslan, David Juritz, and Ian Jones, and performed them from manuscript at Kansas State University with colleagues Kristin Mortenson and William Wingfield in September 2005 (the videos below use the live audio from that recital). These pieces are gratifying to play (clearly written by a composer who understands the instruments), full of both lush melodies and, in "Danse Bizarre," all the technical confabulation you could desire. The "Nocturne" is a truly stunning piece, daring to start with an extended passage of the violins in octaves, and ending by almost floating away into nothing. It works well as a concert piece on its own, and proves to be an audience favorite. Complete videos are below. I hope you enjoy these pieces as much as I have.
2. Danse Bizarre
3. Nocturne