Arnold Cooke: Complete String Quartets, Volume 1

The final paragraph of the liner notes brilliantly provides the context for this first volume of Arnold Cooke’s cycle of five string quartets: “Taken as a series [they] form an important thread through the chamber music of Britain in the middle years of the twentieth century. The longest-surviving pupil of Hindemith in England, he admittedly used the language and mannerisms of his teacher – but with restraint and always with an ear for lyrical beauty.”

A good hermeneutic for appreciating Arnold Cooke’s music is to accept his debt to his composition teacher Paul Hindemith. Musicologist Malcom MacDonald stated that what Cooke “imbibed was a broad framework of technique and a sense of direction: a view of music as a living polyphonic entity and a feeling for individual instruments that goes back to the practice of J.S Bach.” Also of importance is the influence of Bartók. And then there are some nods to “an undeniable English lyricism” that does not depend on overt pastoralism. Finally, Cooke typically did not use compositional systems such as serialism.

Helpful biographical details about Arnold Cooke can be found here on MusicWeb International.  

The String Quartet No. 1 was completed in 1933, shortly after Cooke had returned from study in Berlin. This was just before he assumed the position of Professor of Harmony at the Royal Manchester College of Music. The Quartet lasts for about twenty-two minutes. A contemporary critic (Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer) noted that Hindemith’s influence was clear in “its lack of adipose tissue [body fat!], its studious avoidance of the purple patch, its astringent but apt writing for strings and for the quartet medium, and its strained tonality.”  The Manchester Guardian suggested that listeners “wore the hairshirt of Mr. Cooke’s quartet.” Yet there is more to this work than acidity. The opening fugue begins conventionally, but soon drifts off into a tonal no-man’s land. The Scherzo, which is placed second, is vibrant, if severe. Yet, the slow movement, an Intermezzo, is often songlike, if at times a little bitter. The finale is vibrant, with little to challenge the listener. Strangely, it ends on a common chord, thus negating much of its modernity.

According to Eric Wetherell’s monograph on Arnold Cooke (British Music Society, 1996) the composer wrote the String Quartet No.3 (1967) “because he had always enjoyed playing quartets at Cambridge but had not tried his hand at this medium since 1948.” I think that Bartók is a more relevant influence here than Hindemith. The opening Allegro energico sports a “strong dotted rhythm” and is “strongly contrapuntal.” Equally Bartókian is the Scherzo with its driving dance-like theme. This is preceded by a lyrical Andante where Cooke charts his own individual course. The middle section disturbs the overall poise of the mood with its “martial interlude.” The finale, Allegro vivace, is characterised by a prominent “Scotch-snap” as well as a remarkable pizzicato passage. The movement concludes emphatically in the “home” key of G major.

Arnold Cooke’s final String Quartet (No.5) was completed in 1978. It was commissioned by the Ticehurst and District Music Club, Sussex. This is a short piece, lasting for less than ten minutes. Although the track listing shows that there are three movements, the liner notes suggest that it is “ostensibly in one movement, embracing all the elements of a traditional four-movement sonata. The opening Moderato presents a short unison theme, which is the basis for the melodic material of the entire quartet. It is initially worked out in shortened sonata form. This slips into an energetic Scherzo, which also includes two “calmer and more lyrical” passages. The finale is powerful, combining a fugal opening, a dance-like romp, hints at earlier material and a brief, but vigorous, coda culminating in a terse pizzicato chord.

The liner notes, written by Peter Marchbank, give detailed information about all three quartets, including descriptive notes as well as some reception history. They have been immensely helpful in the preparation of this review. This is preceded by a useful mini biography of the composer. A resume of the Bridge Quartet is included. Toccata Records have already release a CD of Arnold Cooke’s organ music, reviewed here.

The performance by the Bridge Quartet is committed and enthusiastic. They have played these works at concert venues over the past few years and are clearly powerful advocates of Cooke’s chamber music. The recording is ideal.

Finally, Hindemith is often credited with promoting Gebrauchsmusik which effectively meant music aimed at a social or didactic purpose, often deemed to be playable by amateurs. It was not seen as being “art for art’s sake.” Hindemith was to eventually disown this appellation applied to his work. Certainly, the term cannot be applied to Cooke’s music on this CD, whether descriptively of pejoratively. Each Quartet is an accomplished piece of writing, technically involved and satisfying to all concerned. Even a cursory hearing will not detect any element that can be described as “improving” for either the performers or the audience.

It is fantastic that listeners can hear a fairly wide range of Arnold Cooke’s large catalogue, including symphonies, organ music and chamber works on CD. I look forward to assessing the second volume of String Quartets soon.

Track Listing
Arnold Cooke (1906-2005)
String Quartet No.3 (1967)
String Quartet No.5 (1978)
String Quartet No.1 (1933)
Bridge Quartet, Colin Twigg (violin), Catherine Schofield (violin), Michael Schofield (viola), Lucy Wilding (cello)
rec.21-22 November 2022, All Saints’ Church, Thornham, Norfolk.
Toccata Classics TOCC0696