Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Nonet was written in 1894, when he was a student at the Royal College of Music in London. It is in four large movements, and its scoring makes it almost orchestral in sound. The influence of Dvorák, whom Coleridge-Taylor admired greatly, is evident in the opening theme of the first movement; nevertheless, there is much individuality of style throughout the entire work. The slow movement is characterized by florid lines and a truly masterful second theme. The duple-meter Scherzo has been aptly described by Geoffrey Self (The Hiawatha Man, 1995) as “goblinesque,” with its minor key and pervasive pizzicato in the strings, but it also contains a lyrical trio. The final movement does not adopt a conventional “finale” character—neither light and playful, nor heroic—but rather, with its major key and rousing spirit, conveys a sense of easy, unexaggerated confidence.
This is its first publication and the audio clips are taken from the first modern performance of the piece in Columbus, Ohio, in 1998.
This is its first publication and the audio clips are taken from the first modern performance of the piece in Columbus, Ohio, in 1998.
