Four English Sketches (Hurlstone)
Movements
i Pastoral, ii Caprice, iii Romance, iv A Revelry
Notes
The Four English Sketches are “miniatures which paint almost idyllic musical portraits of English country life, like scenes on a Royal Worcester porcelain dinner service.” There is an inherent innocence here. The Pastoral is more Edward German than RVW, whilst the Caprice has a beautiful ‘big tune’ in the middle eight. Romance is melancholy but ending enigmatically: a story rather than a love affair? The finale, A Revelry, is the most technically demanding of the Sketches, bouncy and playful. Hurlstone has introduced a bit of a fugal passage in the Trio section.
