Quartets
Simpson composed 15 numbered string quartets; a quartet preceding this sequence was written as part of his course at Durham University and still exists there. He regarded Quartets Nos. 1–3 as forming a natural sequence, and Nos. 4–6 are a clearly distinct group related to three Beethoven quartets, though they can all be performed as entirely independent compositions. The second movement of No. 8 has the label Eretmapodites gilletti, and the quartet is dedicated to two people including the discoverer of the mosquito with that scientific name; the ninth quartet, from 1982, is a one-movement (but subdivided, with slow and scherzando sections) palindromic 32 Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Haydn; Number 10 is entitled "For Peace". (See the article by Malcolm MacDonald in the External Links.)
In programme notes for a recital consisting of quartets nos. 1–3 at the Arts Council of Great Britain building in London SW1 on 11 February 1955, Simpson wrote that "although they were not consciously designed as a group, they nevertheless seem to fall into a natural sequence". In construction and tonality there are elements of an overall symmetry encompassing the three works.
String Quartet No. 1 (1951–52)
is in two movements, quick and slow; the second movement is a set of variations on a palindromic theme stated by the viola. There is a power-struggle by the opposed tonal centres of E flat and A: E flat is the focus of the first movement and beats off the challenge of A, the second movement theme starts and ends in E flat with a central climax in A; the variations work round to A major, in which key the work ends. The quartet is dedicated to George Enescu.
String Quartet No. 2 (1953)
is the shortest of all Simpson's quartets, playing for about 15 minutes. It is cast in a single movement and a single metronome mark, within which three themes (and three tempi) contest for dominance.
String Quartet No. 3 (1953–54)
is in two movements, slow and quick: an Adagio in C major and a pulsing Allegro deciso that works round to an affirmative E major. (Simpson made a transcription of this movement as an independent piece for full string orchestra.)
Simpson stated that String Quartets Nos. 4–6, which are on a much larger scale than Nos. 1–3, constituted "a close study of Beethoven's three Rasumovsky quartets, Op. 59; that is to say, the attempt to understand those great works resulted in, not a verbal analysis, but music". The three Simpson quartets offer, in his own idiom, "musical analogies" to the procedures of Beethoven's three quartets, but they can be performed without reference to the Beethoven and indeed without reference to each other.
String Quartet No. 4 (1973)
is dedicated to Basil Lam. The four movements – an Allegro, a Presto scherzo, an Andante sostenuto slow movement joining on without a break to an Assai vivace finale – correspond to the layout of Beethoven's op.59 no.1.
String Quartet No. 5 (1974)
is dedicated to Angela Musgrave, who became the composer's second wife. The four movements – an Allegro molto with a written-out literal repeat of the exposition, an Adagio, sempre semplice, an Allegretto vivace and a whirlwind Prestissimo finale – correspond to the layout of Beethoven's Op. 59, No. 2.
String Quartet No. 6 (1975)
is dedicated to the film-maker Barrie Gavin and his wife Jamila. Of the four movements, the first begins with an Adagio introduction exploring an enigmatic harmony, prefacing a large-scale Vivacissimo; the second is an intermezzo-like Con moto; grazioso ed intensivo, the third a complex Canon marked Molto tranquillo with an Allegretto grazioso middle section, and the finale is marked Molto rapido – these correspond to the layout of Beethoven's op.59 no.3, which begins with a slow introduction exploring a particular harmony and includes an archaic form (a Minuet) as its third movement.
Quartets Nos. 7 and 8 both explore the possibilities of the perfect fifth in shaping their themes, harmonies and tonalities.
String Quartet No. 7 (1977)
is dedicated to the organist Susi Jeans and written in celebration of the birth-centenary of her husband, the astronomer Sir James Jeans. The work is in a single movement and makes much use of the open strings of the instruments, whose tuning Simpson likened to the forces of gravitation. This leads the work to revolve around the circle of fifths. The slow opening Tranquillo and closing Tempo primo enclose a fast section, Vivace, intended to represent the pulsing energy of the universe.
String Quartet No. 8 (1979)
is dedicated to the biologist and entomologist J.D. Gillett and his wife. There are four movements, the tonality of each being a fifth higher than that of its predecessor. The first is a large-scale fugue, Grave, molto intensivo, the second is a brief scherzo (Molto vivace), 'suggesting the formidable delicacy' of the mosquito Eretmapodites Gilletti. The third is an intermezzo, Allegretto grazioso, played with mutes. The finale is a strenuous Risoluto e concentrato to balance the first movement.
String Quartet No. 9 (1982)
is subtitled 32 Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Haydn and was dedicated to the Delmé Quartet, who commissioned it, on their 20th anniversary, which was also the 250th anniversary of the birth of Haydn. At about 57 minutes' duration, it is one of the longest continuous movements for string quartet ever written. The theme is the palindromic minuet which Haydn used in his Symphony No. 47 and Piano Sonata No.26. Simpson had already composed a set of piano variations on this minuet in 1948, and three of those variations are transcribed as variations I-III of the quartet. The 32 quartet variations take Simpson's fascination with formal symmetry to a new extreme, though they are grouped to correspond to first movement, scherzo and slow movement. The free-form fugue forms the finale, gaining energy and speed as it proceeds.
String Quartet No. 10 (1983)
bears the title For Peace and was composed for the tenth anniversary of the Coull Quartet. Simpson said that the title "refers to its generally pacific character ... The music ... tries to define the condition of peace. This excludes aggression but not strong feeling." The three movements are a serene Allegretto, a very short Prestissimo scherzo and a concluding Molto adagio, longer than the other two movements combined, which climaxes in a fugue and ends in a peaceful epilogue.
String Quartet No. 11 (1984)
was also written for the Coull Quartet and shares some material with No. 10, but is much more turbulent and intense in character: Simpson said he was conscious of the influence of Beethoven's F minor Quartet, Op.95 in this work. Quartet No. 11 is in a single large movement and is concerned with salient intervals including the tritone and the major third. An opening Allegro molto is followed by a polyphonic Adagio, a large-scale Scherzo (Presto) and a concluding Molto adagio played pianissimo throughout.
String Quartet No. 12 (1987)
was commissioned for the 1988 Nottingham Festival. This work is in two large movements, a meditative and polyphonic Adagio and a Molto vivace combining the characters of scherzo and finale.
String Quartet No. 13 (1989)
was commissioned for the 1990 Cardiff Festival and was premiered there by the Delmé Quartet. It is dedicated to the BBC producer Graham Melville-Mason and his wife Alex. This is the shortest of Simpson's later quartets (only No. 2 is shorter) and is in four concise movements, played without any break, in a fast-slow-fast-slow pattern.
String Quartet No. 14 (1990)
is a large-scale work in the traditional four movements. The slow movement has been particularly praised for its meditative beauty.
String Quartet No. 15 (1991)
is a shorter work in one movement with three contrasting sections, an Adagio introduction and an Allegretto finale framing a large central scherzo, marked Severo. The character of this quartet is turbulent and granitic, rather in the manner of String Quartet No. 11.
