A Month in the Country (for String Quartet)
Transcription of the suite for string orchestra
In 1986 Howard Blake was commissioned to write the score for the film ‘A Month in the Country’, directed by Pat O’Connor and produced by Ken Trodd for Euston Films in conjunction with Channel 4. The score won him the British Film Institute’s Anthony Asquith Award for Musical Excellence. The film starred Colin Firth, Kenneth Branagh and Miranda Richardson whilst the script was adapted by Simon Gray from the book by J.L.Carr. It is a story of two former soldiers coming to terms with the horrors of the Great War amidst the serenity of the English countryside. One is an archaeologist excavating in a rural churchyard, the other is uncovering a mural as part of the restoration of the church. As sections of the mural gradually re-emerge, so they rediscover themselves and come to terms with the iconoclasm of the first world war.
In 1992 the composer created a concert suite for string orchestra from the film score, a recording of which was made in 1993 by The Northern Philharmonia conducted by Paul Daniel. This string quartet version of it was created by Howard Blake in March 2010.
Movements
- 1:
- Larghetto 3min 2sec
- 2:
- Alla Marcia 1min 19sec
- 3:
- Adagio 3min 33sec
- 4:
- Scherzando 1min 33sec
- 5:
- Andante Espressivo 3min 6sec
Recordings