Alfred Hill (1870- 1960) String QuartetNo.5 in E flat major, "The Allies"String QuartetNo.6 in G major, "The Kids"String QuartetNo.11 in D minor “His facilityand strength in handling the factors of composition are most admirable. A critical mind and a sincereadmiration for logic and symmetry save him from the excess of radicalism intowhich young composers are so prone to fall." So read sentencesfrom an entry in Henry Krebhiel’s Music in America (1901) on thecomposer George Chadwick (1854-1931), sentences which re-echo in the numerouscritical assessments that were accorded Alfred Hill and expressed in his ownlife-time. Thus, on 9th August, 1945, Sir Neville Cardusreviewed Alfred Hill’s String Quartet No.11 in D minor in the followingterms: ’Thecomposition was new to me: and I have lived in this country for more than fiveyears at a stretch andhave heard much Australian music of little sensibility and less all. The quartetof Hill is beautiful in warm melody, with sympathetic writing for eachinstrument; it is cultured music of a full and refined personality."?/span>Hitherto,biographical literature has tended to focus upon specific aspects of AlfredHill’s career as composer, conductor, pedagogue and polemicist, rather thanexplore his case-history as exemplary of an interaction between differentcultural systems and traditions. For Hill’s location in Australian and New Zealand musical life in the early twentieth century wasanalogous to that of those North American composers John Knowles Paine, ArthurFoote, George Chadwick, Horatio Parker and Daniel Gregory Mason. In common withHill, most of these received their final training in the Europeanconservatories, returning to Boston and New York and the North Eastern seaboardregions of the United States of America to become variously active, again likeHill, as conductors, composers, pedagogues and critics, playing a decisive r61ein the shaping of early musical curricula in the conservatories anduniversities. In common with Alfred Hill, their leadership as teachers involvedthe transplantation of the compositional models, norms and processes that hadbeen previously imparted to them in the mainly continental conservatories. Forthe development of musical life especially in Sydney, Melbourne, theSouth-Eastern seaboard regions of Australia and also of New Zealand, it wasthat era in which High Colonialism was broadened, liberalised and humanisedthrough the introduction of steam-ships through the Suez Canal to Europe, theintroduction of telegraphic communications and high urbanisation and thebroader range of contacts with Europe to the newly emergent traditions arisingfrom the recently established conservatories of music there. Born in Melbourne in 1870, Alfred Hill’s earliest musical experiencesand professional training were gained as an instrumentalist (cornettist andviolinist) in the various small orchestras and ensembles that serviced thenumerous itinerant theatrical troupes of the day that customarily toured Australia and New Zealand under numerouscommercial managements, especially during the prosperous decades of the 1870sand 1880s. Thereafter, he had four years of rigorous professional training(1887-1891) at the Royal Conservatory in Leipzig, and from September 1888 as asecond and later as a rank-and-file first violinist in the GewandhausOrchestra, whose Generalmusikdirektor Carl Reinecke was also Director of theRoyal Conservatory, and thus in a double sense one of Hill’s mentors andmodels. Among his other mentors of these Leipzig years may be numbered the violinists Hermann, Bollard, Hans Sitt (thislast for chamber music, score-reading and ensemble composition), Gustav Schreck(a later renowned Cantor at St Thomas) and the historianaesthetician Oskar Paul. In 1891 Hill completed his studies at Leipzig with honours, receiving the Helbig Prize awarded forexceptional all-round achievement, as composer and instrumentalist. As theseearly documents testify, Hill had already attracted attention as a composer ofchamber music, his "Scotch" Sonata for Violin and Pianoforte beingnot on I y assigned the commendation, but actually attaining performance andpublication. This work also reflected Hill’s responses to European andespecially Gaelic and Celtic musical folklore that were to recur at laterphases throughout his subsequent career as chamber-music composer, notably the GaelicSketches for String Quartet or in the Celtic String Quartet (laterreworked as the "Celtic" Symphony). This enthusiasm fordifferent musical folklores later to include those of the Polynesians, Maorisand Australian Aborigines, was a trait Hill also shared with several of hisNorth American-born, but European-trained, contemporaries such as Edward MacDowell(in his instance Amerindian music). When, at the conclusionof his Leipzig sojourn, Hill returned to the Antipodes,it was initially to New Zealand that he travelled, tobe based in the capital at Wellington as conductor of the OrchestralSociety, the Choral Society, as solo instrumentalist and as pedagogue. Hisearliest compositions there included a cantata The New Jerusalem (1891),the Maori pageant cantatas Hinemoa (1895) and Tawhaki (1897) aswell as the "Maori" Symphony (c. 1901). The apparententhusiasm for Maori and Polynesian folklore in this early group of works wassubsequently maintained in such later operatic scores as Tapu (1903)and Teora (1928).?/span>Anothercontributory factor to the production of the seventeen string quartetswas Hill’s continued enthusiasm for this genre, both as a performer andpedagogue. Hill was, for instance, a member of the early Austral String Quartet(c. 1911), and a producer of works for the Verbrugghen and other laterstring quartets. Thereafter, Hill emerged as the first Australian composer toproduce an extended series of contributions to this genre. The recentavailability on compact disc of German chamber music by Reinecke, Rheinberger,Max Bruch, Hermann Goetz and Robert Fuchs, as well as of the more importantcomposers of the period, has made possible a closer comparison of their stylesand textures with those of their new England epigones, and for that matter, ofAlfred Hill. Common features linking the works of these composers can beenumerated as follows: I. First movements, as a rule in a sonata or modified sonata form, arepreceded by a slow introduction. II. A minuet or other dance stylisation, or a ternary type ofintermezzo, was sometimes provided as a substitute or alternative to a scherzo.III. Slow movements, often ternary (ABA)in structure and occasionally carrying programmatic or evocative titles, weresometimes of the Romanze type. Within such ternary structures the Bsections were as a rule more animated in pace and character. IV. Finales often favour rondo or sonata forms or a synthesis of these,and often offer retrospective glances at the past thematic substance of earliermovements. V. The technique of thematic reminiscence or cross reference was afeature of some, but not all, of the string quartets and the symphonies adaptedfrom them. The young Mendelssohn had, of course, resulting from a study ofBeethoven’s last quartets, explored these possibilities in his early quartets Opus12 and 13. The earliest ofthe recorded quartets on this compact disc is the Quartet No.5 in E flat, themanuscript is dated Mosman, 24th June. 1920 and subtitled ’TheAllies". Details of the work’s first production on 3rd March, 1921 arerecorded in the Alfred Hill papers, complete with press reportage and criticismof that event. Originally dedicated in this form to Henri Verbrugghen, whosequartet first performed it, the work was subsequently revived as the SymphonyNo.11 in E flat, and renamed The Four Nations, whilst retaining thesame general literary programme that applied to the original string quartet. Hill’s productionof all but two of his string quartets appear to date from his Sydney years,over a quarter century from 1912 with the String Quartet No.3 in A minor"Carnival" (later reworked as the Carnival Symphony) tothe Quartet No.17 in C, dated 18th March, 1938. Throughout thoseintervening years, Hill had been associated with the New South Wales StateConservatorium of Music as its Professor of Harmony and Composition, and as anassistant conductor of the New South Wales and New SouthWales Conservatorium Orchestras. Almost all of these quartets were written athis harbour-side residence on the foreshores of Sydney Harbour at Mosman. in whose large water-frontagemusic-room Hill customarily assembled ensembles or professional colleagues andgifted students for rehearsals and soirees, an ideal environment for thecreation of such a work series. The manuscript ofthe Quartet No.5 in E flat exists in a folio in which Hill has alsoincluded copies of a Minuet by Thomas Attwood and its redrafting by Mozart.The quartet has four movements: I. Allegro risoluto (containing other differently pacedsubdivisions) in 2/2 E flat.ll. Intermezzo: Allegretto in B flat in 2/4 and trio in E flat. lII. Romanze 3/4 in G major (with an animated middle section). IV .Finale, Allegro in E flat with an interpolated reminiscenceof the opening of the first movement, immediately before its animated butabbreviated Coda. The first movementintroduces its principal theme in the first violin as an Allegro risoluto in2/2 time. After thirteen bars, a new contrasting idea, also assigned to thefirst violin (Andantino), emphasizes the related regions C and G minor,en route towards a stronger assertion of the tonic key of E flat in thefollowing Tranquillo section in 12/8 in which viola and first violininitiate a dialogue based upon a near variant of the principal theme. Therefollows an allegretto molto introduced in the dominant sphere of B flat.This idea, which serves as the movement’s contrasting second subject material,is cast in common time, and characterised by a constant rhythmic shaped from acontinuity of dactylic rhythmic motifs. Thereafter, the substance of theremainder of this movement is provided through the fluctuating alternation ofthese principal and secondary thematic groups, the compound 12/8 rhythmscontrasting admirably with the four-square forward thrusts in common time. The secondmovement is an Intermezzo and Trio in a three-part ABA form, rounded off by a short Coda. The openingAllegretto in G minor is also shaped in a similar tripartite ABA form with main interest assigned to the first violinin the spirit of a nineteenth century Quatuor brilliant. The contrastingTrio in E flat is mobilised by nimble andfleet-footed pizzicato figuresin contrast to melodic materials shared, if unequally, between viola and cello,until concluded by octave and unison flourishes for the first and secondviolin, signalling a resumption of the previous Quatuor brilliant style,which also permeates the short eight-bar Coda. The Romanze(Andantino) in G major, stressing a tertian relationship to the hometonality of the work, is also devised after a ternary design, with two flankingAndantino sections, enclosing a more animated middle Agitato inauguratedin E minor. The opening and closing Andantino sections embrace severalmain ideas: the first a four-bar assigned to the viola, then a contrastingfour-bar section, in which the first violin seizes the opportunity for a thematicalbeit varied backward glance at the opening idea of the first movement. Abovea pedal-point of G, the violin then ushers in a new theme, subsequently takenover by viola, to which the first violin is assigned a lyrical counter-subject.The remaining twelve bars of this first Andantino section then revert tothe materials of the two opening thematic sentences, but now in reverse order.In the following Agitato, thematic interest is initially divided betweenthe cello and the first violin against repeated note harmonic underpinning inthe middle voices. The appearance of a low pedal-point of C in the cellosupplies the transition to the reprise of the opening Andantino, identifiedas before by the flourishes for solo viola. This reprise, however, envolves theelements of thematic extension and variation of its own second group of themes,now presented con sordino by violin supported by middle voice Albertifiguration above a tonic pedal- point in the cello. Thereafter thebipartite thematic group, with its reminiscence of the first movement, returnsto be rounded off by a quiet coda. The Finale isa sonata-styled structure with clearly defined profiled and contrasted primaryand secondary materials, with the contrast between tonic and dominant spheresalso emphasized in the contrasting textures of these two sections, withactivated crotchet movement and figuration in the three upper voicesenergetically spun above the modulatory and sequential ostinato figuresassigned to the cellist. For the second subject the first violin floats insustained legato phrases, over the rustling bowed and fingered tremolando inthe middle voices, again underpinned by the dominant pedal-point of the cello.The development section subsumes both primary and secondary materials, makinggenerous provision for the development through fragmentation, a generousstatement of the second theme by viola alone, a pedal-point of C, and some canonicwriting for the two violins. There follows an orthodox reprise section, at theend of which is interpolated meno crochet = 60, a final reference to thefirst movement, before a short coda flourish rounds the movement, as well asthe work itself, off. If Alfred Hill’sfifth quartet was conceived for an ensemble well attuned to the refinements ofperformance practice, his next work, the sixth, as implied in its dedicatorysubtitle "The Kids" and for The young fry at the New South Wales State Conservatorium ofMusic, Sydney, suggests a work also with pedagogical aims andchallenges. The inscribed date reads 3 September, 1927. The firstmovement, an Allegro crochet = 138, is of a well-proportionedsymmetrical design with balanced exposition and reprise sections, but withabbreviated development of only nineteen bars’ duration. The first 33 bars ofthe first subject are initially neatly packaged into four- or two-barsentences, made the more accessible and memorable through the use ofsequence and a focussing of melodic interest into the first violin part. Thesecond subject appears at figure 3 (bar 35) with the marking a tempo, andis conveniently located above a dominant pedal-point in D in the cello. Anoteworthy feature about this second subjectis its treatment as a duet, first betweenfirst and second violins, and then by second violin and viola, whereby thesecond violin’s thematic material remains constant, while the viola is assignedthe previous first violin material but an octave lower, the result being acombination of the principles of invertible counterpoint with those of parallelmovement. The ideas prove fruitful, permitting as they do, the emergence ofcounter-subject material in which the viola has the main interest. After someexploration of the thematic possibilities of this, the movement section isrounded off by a bluff cadential unison statement ending in the dominant. Afterthe short development section initiated in stretto fashion between thelower and upper strings, and once again stressing the role of descendingsequence, the possibilities of the second subject are briefly reflected upon,any further exploration being terminated through resumption of the firstsubject and the extended reprise now to follow. The secondmovement is a lively Scherzo in E flat, with a Trio in A flat.This scherzo is immediately generated by an energetic rhythmic theme based on atriple-metre repeated note pattern, offset by a briskly contrasted idea forcello. It comprises the first half of the Scherzo and reprise section ofthe movement. The second section of the Scherzo, initially based on adialogue between first violin and viola, ultimately resolves into B flat. Thecontrasting Trio, also in two parts, is in A flat. The following slowmovement Adagio ma non troppo is shaped again in ternary form,with the two similar flanking parts enclosing a more animated middle sectionmarked piil moto. The melodic character of the movement is determined bythe eight- bar melody for cello with which proceedings commence. The moreanimated middle section is highlighted by similar textures to those encounteredin the second subject of the first movement. The reprise at the tempo primo isan extended and more ornamental version of the exposition in that the firstviolin supplies an extended and more embellished counter-subject to theoriginal cello theme. The Finale, anAllegretto (crochet = 69), is a lightly tripping sonata movement basedon a syncopated rhythmic pattern in 6/8, its character recalling the dance anddivertimento styled movements that were so often favoured to concludeclassical string quartets. According to thechronology of Alfred Hill’s string quartets the Quartet No.11 in D minor waswritten in 1935, immediately alter the String Quartet in E minor, subsequentlyre-adapted as the Symphony No.7 in E minor and already recorded in thisseries. In the period before and after the creation of this work Hill hadrelinquished his professorship in harmony and composition at the New SouthWales State Conservatorium of Music, following various policy conflicts betweenhimself and the newly incumbent director Dr Edgar Bainton. The Quartet in Dminor has come to enjoy a greater frequency in performances and recordingsthan other quartets in the series and was moreover jointly published (1946)through a collaboration between Chappell & Company pty Ltd. Londonand Allan & Company Pty. Ltd. of Melbourne. At the time of its publication,the work had become popularised through its many performances andrecording by the Queensland State String Quartet. In the years that surroundedits early compositional process and early production, Hill had shown a greatlyrevived interest in New Zealand musical development, partly stimulated by thethen forthcoming centenary celebrations of the founding of the original colony,an event commemorated by such artistic developments as the creation of theCentennial Orchestra, the forerunner of the New Zealand National, now NewZealand Symphony Orchestra. Hill’s interest in these developments has beendocumented in correspondence with the long-serving prime minister Peter Fraser.Among the desiderata outlined by Hill in his correspondence was the necessityto establish not only a national conservatorium, but also such an institutethat would collect, preserve and document the considerable resources of Maoriand Polynesian indigenous musics of the region. Hill’s response to these resources,even if a somewhat Euro-centric one, is weIl represented throughout his work insuch genres; from opera, oratorio, cantata, symphonic (the early "Maori"Symphony) and other orchestral programme music, for example The SacredMountain, to the smallest miniatures such as Waiata Poi, oftenavailable in alternative instrumentations. The Quartet inD minor has three main movement sections as follows:I. Andantino ?Allegro (crochet = 116)D minor - D major II. Adagio in?/span>III. Allegrettoin D minor- D major, With thesonata-type finale also incorporating various sonic characteristics of the Scherzo. As in otherquartets by this composer, the introductory Andantino to the firstmovement included thematic points, for example the motivic ideas introduced byan upward leap of the tenth motto and the short sighing four-bar theme marked Lento.A point of comparative interest here might have been Hill’s admiration of Grieg’sQuartet in G minor. The Allegro proper is introduced by adownward thrust for viola and cello followed by a modulating pattern inparallel fifths and sixths for the two violins above a sheet anchor "bordun"pedal-point (viola) below which the cello proclaims (espressivo) itsvigorous and accented initial theme, to which the viola (espressivo) soonreplies with a Iyrical eight-bar sentence. Once again double bar, a fermata anda change of metre indicate the appearance of secondary materials, beforeretrospective references are made to the four-bar Lento theme and thenthe opening ideas of the introductory Andantino. The exposition is, asbefore, rounded off by a homorhythmic tutti and a double bar with a resolutionin F major. The development commences piu lento, with some canonicimitation for first violin, cello and viola based upon the opening idea of theintroductory Andantino, a passage of modulatory interest leading to adominant seventh of the movement’s home tonality, once again emphasized by adouble-bar caesura. The resumption of the Allegro ushers in the repriseof this movement, with the second subject, and all subsequent events, settledinto D major. The Adagio thatfollows conforms to the usual ternary design, with a more animated middlesection, already encountered in other slow movements by this composer. Theflanking Adagio 3/4 section, of a subtle modulatory character, isushered in by an embellished theme for viola, with an expressivecounter-subject assigned to first and then second violin, before the formertakes over the viola material. The middle Allegro con moto 3/4 negotiatesa turn towards B minor, emphasized in the sul ponticello tremolando forviola and cello at figure 15. In its choice of texture and figuration thissection is a distant re-echo of the style of the first movement. In theabbreviated reprise that follows, the original viola subject is now firstassigned to the cello, thereafter completed by the viola. The movement ends ona 6/4 chord of the distant key of F sharp minor. The Finale, whichstarts as an Allegretto in 6/8 in the home key of D minor, blends thevarious elements of the divertimento and scherzando spirit withinthe broad outlines of the sonata concept. A secondary feature of the principalsubject group is the rhythmic idea on the figure 6/8  which imparts a fleeting scherzando characterto this section of the exposition. This scherzando is moreoveraccentuated by the lively second violin motifs that follow at figure 17 andthere is a descending pattern based on falling fourths in a sequentialarrangement, that also shapes a stretto. The brief development section,demarcated at both ends through double bars, provides little more than anopportunity for the original principal, scherzando and second subjectsto make each a brief entry, before a piu lento section, also marked quasirecitando, facilitates a succession of pedal-points culminating on aninversion of the dominant seventh of the home key. In the reprise section, thetwo main principal and scherzando ideas move events from D minor to thedominant of D major, at which point the second subject is re-introduced, andfollowed in its turn by a coda based on the scherzando rhythm. Thisplunges into a series of descending scale passages, the third of which ischaracterized by changes of pace and metre, as it subsides across quiet, remotehorizons. Two of the threeforegoing quartets of Hill are characterized through the use of subtitles,suggesting melodic resources, stylistic points of departure or the pragmatismof performance practice. In this regard, Hill could look back on severalstreams of European romanticism, including the lightly programmatic quartets ofJoachim Raff (1822-1882), with which he had been familiar already during hisstudent days at Leipzig. Subsequent production of later quartetsshould facilitate a fuller panorama of all these contributory influences. ?/span>