E.J. Moeran [1894-1950]
String Quartet No.2 in E flat [1923 or 1946]
Performed by the Piatti Quartet
Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, 10th March 2024
Born in 1894 in Heston, England, Ernest John Moeran (known as Jack to his friends) learnt the violin and piano and studied composition at the Royal College of Music in London with Charles Stanford and John Ireland. His studies were cut short by the outbreak of war and whilst serving in the Norfolk regiment in France he received a severe head injury which led to a metal plate being inserted into his skull. The injury was to affect him for the rest of his life. While recovering, he was stationed in Ireland and became particularly interested in his Irish roots – his father was Dublin born. Moeran grew very fond of Kenmare where he often went for musical inspiration. He died there in 1950.
The String Quartet in E flat was discovered in Moeran’s papers after his death and was published in 1956. There is some debate as to when this work was composed. In style it seems to pre-date his other string quartet of 1923, yet its unusual two movement structure has led some commentators to think that it must have been written at the same time as the two movement Oboe Quartet (1946), when Moeran himself referred to ‘concocting another string quartet’. The first movement, in conventional sonata form, has a very ‘English’ feel, with the clear influence of Vaughan Williams. In the second movement, a slow opening soon becomes lively and scherzo-like taking us on a musical journey to Ireland through reels, airs and the final jig, in which it is hard not to get up and dance! Note provided by the Carducci Quartet