Endymion Ensemble - Rubbra - Piano Trios etc [Original recording remastered]

The Phantasy for Two Violins and Piano (1927) is based on three lyrical themes which are related. Harold Truscott wrote that 'It contains in a rather large nutshell a good many of the qualities which were to develop mightily only a few years later'. It is a lovely piece but perhaps lacks contrast.

In 1947, Rubbra was commissioned by the BBC to write incidental music for a radio play based on the life of Buddha. His friend, Adrian Cruft, fashioned a short suite, 'The Buddha', from this. The scoring is for flute, oboe and string trio (the original used a string quartet). In five movements, the second, 'The Peasant Girl', is for flute alone. A slight but charming piece.

Rubbra wrote a lot of music for recorder, often with the harpsichord. Meditazioni sopra 'Coeurs Désolé' is such a piece (the composer specified a pedal harpsichord) but is played here by the oboe and piano. It is based on a theme by Josquin des Prez from a four-part chanson and is a set of variations. Although given a fine performance here, I can only agree with Lewis Forman who wrote that 'Its effect is so different when played on the piano as to make it almost a different and less effective work'. Nevertheless, it is still very beautiful.

The Piano Trio in One Movement (1950) is in three sections. The first is nobly elegiac. The scherzando is fast and inventive and the work ends with a theme and three 'meditations' (variations). This last is profound and spiritual in feeling. It ends affirmatively with the piano hammering out bell-like chords. Bell sounds are found throughout Rubbra's music. He recalled that as a boy of about 10, he went for a walk in the woods with his father one hot, summer Sunday. 'Suddenly, through the hazy heat, I heard distant bells, the music of which seemed suspended in the still air. I was held motionless, the scenery vanished, and I was aware only of downward drifting sounds that seemed isolated from everything else around me.'

One of his most popular works is the Oboe Sonata (1958). It begins with a lovely con moto, followed by a plaintive Elegy. In the final presto, the oboe takes it easy while the piano scurries frantically below.

The Piano Trio No 2 was composed in the early 70s to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Evesham & District Music Club. Rubbra managed to reassemble his old trio with Eric Gruenberg and William Pleeth. After the initial performance, they gave another in Birmingham. No music critics of note bothered to turn up at either performance. The Tempo e moderato deliberato begins with rather tense and anxious music from the strings over a heavy, chordal tread from the piano. This mood alternates with more relaxed episodes. The bells reappear and chime over the last few minutes. It ends sadly, the final notes fading away to infinity. The final allegretto scherzando which Martin Anderson, in his fine notes, appropriately describes as being akin to Debussy's 'Golliwogs' Cakewalk'. This cakewalk is not quite so jolly though. The six-note motif underlying this rhythm later reappears in a gently swaying form. The jerky theme briefly resurrects itself only to be replaced even more briefly by the anxious mood of the opening movement. The trio subsides to a quiet close.

Rubbra's last chamber work, The Duo for Cor Anglais and Piano was commissioned by the Dutch oboeist, Peter Bree, and he gave the first performance in 1980. Bree got a shock when he received the bill and needed an extra £600. Amazingly he got a reluctant Arts Council to pay up. He recorded the work shortly after and knowing that the Queen Mother admired Rubbra's music, managed to present a copy of the disc to her at Windsor Castle over a glass of sherry. The work is slight and it is difficult to make out any memorable tunes but it shows off the cor anglais well.

The Endymion Ensemble perform faultlessly and the Dutton recording, made in All Saints Church, East Finchley is well balanced and refined. This mid-price issue contains 77 minutes of music and is excellent value. The notes are in chronological order, unlike the recording, so you have to flit to and fro to read about the piece that is playing.