Oslo Philharmonics’s Chamber Series Henry Purcell
Thomas Adès
Igor Stravinsky
Amy Beach

In 1680, at just 21 years of age, Henry Purcell (1659–1695) composed a series of fantasias for between three and seven voices – likely within the span of only a few weeks. These brief yet magnificent pieces are polyphonic masterpieces, often seen as precursors to Bach’s The Art of Fugue. Here, Purcell demonstrates a contrapuntal skill far beyond his young age.

From Purcell we leap 300 years forward in time and seamlessly continue with O Albion by Thomas Adès (b. 1971). The title refers to an old, poetic name for Britain. O Albion is the sixth movement of the string quartet Arcadiana, in which Adès explores various visions of the idyllic and the lost. This movement stands out as the most traditional and tonally grounded of the seven, marked by a sense of slowness, nostalgia, and an almost timeless calm.

Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) composed Concertino in 1920 for the US-based Flonzaley Quartet. The piece is a single movement in a free sonata form, with a particularly prominent role for the first violin. The music is concise and energetic in character, reminiscent in style and expression of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale, written two years earlier.

Amy Beach (1867–1944) was an American pianist and composer who, in her time, was regarded as the foremost female composer in the United States. However, it was only after the death of her husband, Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach, that she became known as anything other than “Mrs. H.A.A. Beach.” Her Piano Quintet is considered a milestone in American chamber music and marked an early high point in the genre.