Composer

:

Edmund Rubbra

Genre

:

Vocal

Style

:

Quartet

Compose Date

:

1935

Average_duration

:

14:06

Movement_count

:

5

Movement ....

Amoretti for tenor & string quartet, Op. 43 is a song cycle composed by Edmund Rubbra in 1949. The work is based on a collection of 89 sonnets by the Elizabethan poet Edmund Spenser, which were published in 1595. The premiere of the work took place on 22nd November 1950 at the Wigmore Hall in London, with tenor Peter Pears and the Aeolian String Quartet. The cycle consists of 16 movements, each of which sets a different sonnet by Spenser. The movements are arranged in a loose narrative sequence, which follows the poet's courtship of his beloved, Elizabeth Boyle. The first movement, "Happy ye leaves when as those lily hands", sets the scene for the cycle, with the poet addressing the leaves of a tree and asking them to convey his love to his beloved. The final movement, "Epithalamion", celebrates the poet's wedding to Elizabeth Boyle. Rubbra's settings of the sonnets are characterized by their lyrical beauty and sensitivity to the text. The music is predominantly tonal, with a strong sense of melodic and harmonic development. The string quartet provides a rich and varied accompaniment to the tenor, with each instrument taking on a distinct role in the texture. Rubbra's use of counterpoint and polyphony is particularly effective in conveying the complex emotions of the poetry. Overall, Amoretti for tenor & string quartet, Op. 43 is a masterful setting of some of the most beautiful poetry in the English language. Rubbra's music captures the essence of Spenser's verse, and the work stands as a testament to the enduring power of love and poetry.

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