Editing Rebecca Clarke (composer) (section)

==Compositions ==
[[File:Aeolian Hall program (13 Feb 1918).jpg|thumb|A 1918 program showcasing Clarke's work. Here, her duet ''Morpheus'' is credited to the pseudonym "Anthony Trent".]]

A large portion of Clarke's music features the viola, as she was a professional performer for many years. Much of her output was written for herself and the all-female chamber ensembles she played in, including the Norah Clench Quartet, the English Ensemble, and the d'Aranyi Sisters. She also toured worldwide, particularly with cellist May Mukle. Several trends in [[20th-century classical music]] strongly influenced her works. Clarke also knew many leading composers of the day, including [[Ernest Bloch|Bloch]] and [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]], with whom her work has been compared.<ref name="oxford"/>

The [[impressionist music|impressionism]] of [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]] is often mentioned in connection with Clarke's work, particularly its lush textures and modernistic [[harmony|harmonies]]. The [[Viola Sonata (Rebecca Clarke)|Viola Sonata]] (published in the same year as the Bloch and the [[Paul Hindemith|Hindemith]] Viola Sonata) is an example of this, with its [[pentatonic scale|pentatonic]] opening theme, thick harmonies, emotionally intense nature, and dense, [[rhythm]]ically complex texture. The Sonata remains a part of the standard repertoire for the viola. ''[[Morpheus (Rebecca Clarke)|Morpheus]]'', composed a year earlier, was her first expansive work, after over a decade of songs and miniatures. The ''Rhapsody'' that Coolidge sponsored is Clarke's most ambitious work: it is roughly 23 minutes long, with complex musical ideas and ambiguous tonalities contributing to the varying moods of the piece. In contrast, "Midsummer Moon", written the following year, is a light miniature, with a flutter-like solo violin line.<ref name="cd" />

In addition to her chamber music for strings, Clarke wrote many songs. Nearly all of Clarke's early pieces are for solo voice and piano. Her 1933 "Tiger, Tiger", a setting of [[William Blake|Blake]]'s poem "[[The Tyger]]", is dark and brooding, almost [[expressionism|expressionist]]. She worked on it for five years to the exclusion of other works during her tumultuous relationship with John Goss and revised it in 1972.<ref name="grove" /> Most of her songs, however, are lighter in nature. Her earliest works were [[parlour music|parlour songs]], and she went on to build up a body of work drawn primarily from classic texts by [[William Butler Yeats|Yeats]], [[John Masefield|Masefield]], and [[A.E. Housman]].<ref name="oxford"/>

During 1939 to 1942, the last prolific period near the end of her compositional career, her style became more clear and [[counterpoint|contrapuntal]], with emphasis on [[motif (music)|motivic]] elements and tonal structures, the hallmarks of [[neoclassicism (music)|neoclassicism]]. ''Dumka'' (1941), a recently published work for violin, viola, and piano, reflects the [[Eastern Europe]]an [[folk music|folk]] styles of [[Béla Bartók|Bartók]] and [[Bohuslav Martinů|Martinů]].<ref name="grove" /> The "[[Passacaglia]] on an Old English Tune", also from 1941 and premiered by Clarke herself, is based on a theme attributed to [[Thomas Tallis]] which appears throughout the work. The piece is modal in flavor, mainly in the [[Dorian mode]] but venturing into the seldom-heard [[Phrygian mode]]. The piece is dedicated to "BB", ostensibly Clarke's niece Magdalen; scholars speculate that the dedication is more likely referring to [[Benjamin Britten]], who organised a concert commemorating the death of Clarke's friend and major influence [[Frank Bridge]].<ref>Curtis, Liane (1999). Program notes to Clarke's ''Passacaglia on an Old English Tune''. Hildegard Publishing Company.</ref> The ''Prelude, Allegro, and Pastorale'', also composed in 1941, is another neoclassically influenced piece, written for clarinet and viola (originally for her brother and sister-in-law).<ref name="cd" />

Clarke composed no large scale works such as symphonies. Her total output of compositions comprises 52 songs, 11 choral works, 21 chamber pieces, the Piano Trio, and the Viola Sonata.<ref name="grove"/> Her work was all but forgotten for a long period of time, but interest in it was revived in 1976 following a radio broadcast in celebration of her ninetieth birthday. Some of Clarke's compositions remain unpublished and in the personal possession of her heirs, along with most of her writings.<ref name="woolf" /> However, in the early 2000s more of her works were printed and recorded.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Curtis, Liane|title=A Rebecca Clarke reader|publisher=The Rebecca Clarke Society|year=2005|pages=3–5}}</ref> Examples of recent publications include two [[string quartet]]s and ''Morpheus'', published in 2002.<ref name="cd" />

Modern reception of Clarke's work has been generally positive. A 1981 review of her Viola Sonata called it a "thoughtful, well constructed piece" from a relatively obscure composer;<ref>{{cite journal|title=Review: Britten. Lacrymae, Op. 48, Clarke. Viola Sonata.|journal=Gramophone|date=July 1981|page=48}}</ref> a 1985 review noted its "emotional intensity and use of dark tone colours".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Review: Clarke. Viola Sonata.|journal=Gramophone|date=July 1985|page=42}}</ref> Andrew Achenbach, in his review of a [[Helen Callus]] recording of several Clarke works, referred to ''Morpheus'' as "striking" and "languorous".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Achenbach|first=Andrew|title=Review: A Portrait of the Viola|journal=Gramophone|date=February 2003|page=65}}</ref> Laurence Vittes noted that Clarke's "Lullaby" was "exceedingly sweet and tender".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Vittes|first=Laurence|title=Viola View|journal=Gramophone|date=November 2005|page=49}}</ref> A 1987 review concluded that "it seems astonishing that such splendidly written and deeply moving music should have lain in obscurity all these years".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Review: Clarke. Piano Trio.|journal=Gramophone|date=March 1987|page=75}}</ref>

The Viola Sonata was the subject of [[BBC Radio 3]]'s Building a Library survey on 17 October 2015. The top recommendation, chosen by Helen Wallace, was by [[Tabea Zimmermann]] (viola) and [[Kirill Gerstein]] (piano). In 2017 BBC Radio 3 devoted five hours to her music as ''Composer of the Week.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08rg35f|title=The Famous Viola Sonata, Rebecca Clarke (1886–1979), Composer of the Week |website=BBC Radio 3}}</ref>