Bax: Viola Sonata / Concert Piece / Legend / Trio in 1 Movement

Featuring

Martin Outram
Julian Rolton
Laurence Jackson
Sir Arnold Bax

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Composition History

All of Bax's viola works on this album were written with the celebrated British viola-player Lionel Tertis in mind, who encouraged many young composers to write for the instrument.

Instruments

Martin Outram, the violist on this recording, plays on a very fine viola made by Hieronymus Amati in 1628.

Compositional Technique

Bax's early Concert Piece for Viola and Piano, written in 1904, already shows a predominant Celtic element, using features peculiar to Irish folk music like the flattened seventh and falling intervals of the pentatonic scale.

Composer Biography

Sir Arnold Bax, the composer, enjoyed a private income throughout his life, which allowed him the freedom to travel and dedicate himself to music and composition without needing a paid position.

Historical Context

The First World War and the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916 deeply affected Bax, leading to memorial works and poetry so vivid it was banned by the British censor in Ireland.

Instruments

Laurence Jackson, the violinist on this recording, plays a violin made by J. B. Vuillaume, circa 1850.

Composer's Artistic Vision

While a student, Bax developed a lifelong enthusiasm for Ireland, which influenced his music and led him to write poetry, short stories, and plays under the pseudonym 'Dermot O'Byrne'.