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The Vocal Viola

Violist Ruth Gibson stands up for her overlooked and underestimated instrument - its vocal qualities, its ability to represent human emotions, and its unapologetic rebelliousness.

Violist Ruth Gibson explores her instrument's unique voice across three programmes full of intriguing musical choices. The viola may have less solo repertoire than its string siblings, the violin and the cello, and its awkward mid-range sound might be harder for listeners to hear, but Ruth believes it’s undoubtedly the unsung hero of orchestras and chamber ensembles. This butt of musical jokes has a long history of being overlooked, and Ruth will be encouraging it into the limelight at last.

In this second episode, Ruth discovers the vocal qualities of her perfectly imperfect instrument. Her musical choices include a piece where the viola imitates the sounds of speech, a concerto that requires a violist who knows how to act, and a fantasia where the viola emulates birdsong in a way that’s both furious and fragile.

Ruth introduces us to a Hindemith sonata where the viola part is simultaneously introverted and extroverted and a string quartet by Smetana where the viola’s voice represents a sense of foreboding.

A Tandem Production for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3

59 minutes

Last on

Sun 16 Apr 2023 23:00
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3

More episodes

Previous

The Human Viola

Next

The Rebel Viola

See all episodes from Viola: The Unsung Hero

Music Played

  • Dobrinka Tabakova

    Suite in Old Style (Prelude: Fanfare from the balconies and back from the hunting)

    Performer: Maxim Rysanov. Orchestra: Lietuvos kamerinis orkestras.
    • ECM.

  • Trad.

    Black is the Colour of My True Love's hair / Leaving Brittany

    Composer: Johnny Cunningham. Performer: Garth Knox. Performer: Agnès Vesterman. Music Arranger: Garth Knox.
    • ECM.

  • Johannes Brahms

    Geistliches Wiegenlied, Op. 91, No. 2

    Performer: Wolfram Christ. Singer: Jessye Norman. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim.
    • DG.

  • Max Bruch

    Romanian melody (8 pieces for clarinet, viola and piano, Op. 83, No. 5)

    Performer: Brett Dean. Performer: Paul Dean. Performer: Stephen Emmerson.
    • ABC CLASSICS.

  • Gabriel Fauré

    Requiem, Op. 48 (V. Agnus dei)

    Orchestra: Orchestre de Paris – Philharmonie. Choir: Choeur de l'Orchestre de Paris. Conductor: Paavo Järvi.
    • ERATO.

  • Akira Nishimura

    Fantasia on Song of the Birds

    Performer: Nobuko Imai.
    • PAN CLASSICS.

  • Paul Hindemith

    Sonata for viola and piano in F major, Op. 11, No. 4 (I. Fantasie. Ruhig)

    Performer: Antoine Tamestit. Performer: Markus Hadulla.
    • NAIVE.

  • Edward Elgar

    In The South, Op. 50

    Orchestra: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Vasily Petrenko.
    • ONYX.

  • Héloïse Werner

    Mixed Phrases

    Performer: Lawrence Power. Singer: Héloïse Werner.
    • DELPHIAN.

  • Bedrich Smetana

    String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, 'From My Life', (I. Allegro vivo appassionato)

    Ensemble: Alban Berg Quartett.
    • WARNER CLASSICS.

  • John Woolrich

    Ulysses Awakes

    Performer: Rebecca Jones. Orchestra: Â鶹ԼÅÄ National Orchestra of Wales.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Quintet in E flat major, KV 407 (III. Rondo allegro)

    Ensemble: Philharmonia Quartett Berlin.
    • DECCA.

  • Arnold Schoenberg

    Transfigured Night

    Ensemble: Manchester Collective. Director: Rakhi Singh.
    • BEDROOM COMMUNITY.

Broadcast

  • Sun 16 Apr 2023 23:00
    Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3