Bax's fine Quintet, its three movements composed in 1922, is the weightiest piece here, with numerous melodies that sound like Irish folktunes but are apparently...

Bax's fine Quintet, its three movements composed in 1922, is the weightiest piece here, with numerous melodies that sound like Irish folktunes but are apparently original. The first movement has a rhapsodic introduction, the last is in the character of an Irish dance. As in the Harp Quintet (reviewed on page xxx) the textures are remarkably varied, and in the central Lento a long initial passage for strings alone is balanced by oboe cadenzas, solo and accompanied. Next in musical interest stands the Moeran, a quite powerfully moody single movement that passes through several distinct yet related areas of expression. Lacking the poetic imagination of these two works, Gordon Jacob's Quartet is still excellent, its four movements being written with clarity, economy and a ready invention. Like the Bax, it was designed for Leon Goossens.

Holst's contributions date from 1896, although the Pieces were revised in 1910. As Colin Matthews's sleeve-note honestly admits, there is nothing of the mature composer here, though he was already a deft craftsman. These performances, too, are most expressive and in general well recorded, although I feel that the oboe is rather forward in Bax's Quintet.

-- Gramophone [2/1985]