Ravel: Introduction & Allegro - Virtuoso String Quartet, Cockerell, Murchie, Draper, 1929

Recorded in 1929. Virtuoso String Quartet John Cockerell, harp; Robert Murchie, Flute; Charles Draper, Clarinet Thanks to Bryan Bishop for allowing me to use his excellent transfers. You can find this and many other wonderful selections and information at his website: http://shellackophile.blogspot.com. Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet and String Quartet (Introduction et allegro pour harpe, flûte, clarinette et quatuor) was written by Maurice Ravel in 1905. It premiered on 22 February 1907 in Paris. To show off its new chromatic pedal harp, the Pleyel company commissioned Claude Debussy in 1904 to write his Danse sacrée et danse profane for harp and orchestra. The Érard company responded by commissioning Maurice Ravel to write a piece to display the expressive range of its double-action pedal harp. Ravel completed his Introduction and Allegro for a septet of harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet in June 1905, dedicating it to Albert Blondel, director of Maison Érard. He wrote it at breakneck speed, as he had to complete it before embarking on a boating holiday with friends. The Virtuoso String Quartet (Marjorie Hayward and Edwin Virgo, violins; Raymond Jeremy, viola; Cedric Sharpe, cello) was organized by the Gramophone Company of England (HMV) in 1924, and was, apparently, the first chamber music group formed specifically for making recordings. Their recording career was brief, however. By the late 1920s, ensembles with international reputations, such as the Budapest Quartet, were recording for HMV, and the Virtuoso Quartet with its more localized reputation was shunted aside in favor of these. A pity, for the Virtuoso Quartet was a fine ensemble whose performances are passionate and compelling, and whose recordings, which include four Beethoven quartets and quartets by Tchaikovsky, Franck, Debussy and Ravel, as well as numerous shorter works, have become sought after by collectors. No info on John Cockerell except from Clifford Wooldridge who worked for many years at Lyon & Healy, began his harp studies in England with John Cockerell. He said that Cockerell didn't believe in block placing, but used sequential placing only. It seems rather a difficult way to go about things, but evidently Cockerell could make it work. When I was an undergraduate, I had his recording of the Ravel, which, as I remember it, was fine. I say "as I remember it," since that was over 50 years ago, and I have no idea whatever happened to the recording. Charles Draper (23 October 1869, Odcombe, Somerset -- 21 October 1952, Surbiton) was a British classical clarinetist, sometimes described as the grandfather of English clarinetists. He came from a musical family, his father and brother, having been cellists and clarinetists, respectively. In 1888, he studied with Henry Lazarus, and he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music where he continued as a student of Lazarus until the latter's retirement. He also studied for a year under Julian Egerton. He premiered Stanford's Clarinet Concerto in 1903 with the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra. Stanford's Clarinet Sonata was also dedicated to Draper. Draper was also a notable teacher, teaching at the Royal College of Music, Trinity College of Music, and Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and counting Frederick Thurston among his students. His son, Paul Beaumont Draper, was also an accomplished bassoonist.