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Composers Outside Canon: Dame Elizabeth Maconchy
Michael Howell
Sierra College
MUS 002: Music Appreciation
Michelle Coder
May 27, 2025
The Composer whom I have chosen for this project is Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994), an
English-Irish composer from the 20th century. The two songs that I will be analyzing are
String Quartet No. 5 and Quintet for Oboe and Strings, two chamber music songs. The
recording of No. 5 I listened to was released 2010-01-01 by Bingham String Quartet, and the
recording of Quintet was released 2023-12-29 by musical group Poliédrica. I chose these
songs because they are the first two songs that Maconchy won awards for, and so I felt they
would make a good representation of her as an artist.
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Elizabeth Maconchy was born in the city of Hertfordshire, England, but grew up in rural
Ireland, and started playing piano and writing music at the young age of 6. (Wise Music
Classical) her
composition studies at London’s Royal College of Music, where she enjoyed exploring the
works of composers Béla Bartók, Alban Berg, and Leoš Janáček, were under Charles Wood
‘and Vaughun Williams, who, together with Gustav Holst, were impressed by Maconchy’s
originality. She made her debut as a composer under a Blumenthal traveling scholarship to
Prague, with her Concert for Piano was performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra in
1930. Her cantata “The Land”, based on Vita Sackville-West’s book-length poem, was
premiered by Henry Wood at the Promenade Concerts at Queen’s Hall two months later,
with great success. The same year, in spite of her struggles with tuberculosis and prejudice
against female composers, Maconchy contnued to produce works that were played often both in
Britain and abroad,
receiving many awards including a Daily Telegraph award for chamber music in 1933 and a
medal from the Worshipful Company of Musicians for services to chamber music in 1970,
as well as Edwin Evan prizes in 1969 and many other awards, and becoming a Dame in
1987, as the second female composer to be given such a title by the British
Empire. As Vice President and Chairwoman of the Composer’s guild,
President of the society to promote new music, and Vice-President of the Society of
Woman Musicians and the Workers’ Music association, Maconchy worked tirelessly to
promote new music. (Faber Music)
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The first song that I will be analyzing is String Quartet No. 5, a chamber music piece that won
Maconchy the Edwin Evans prize in 1948 (Geoghegan), and that I listened to a performance of
by the Bingham String Quartet, released January 1st, 2010. As a whole, the song has a
polyphonic texture consisting of two violins, a viola, and a cello, as is standard for string quartets
The time signature is 4/4.
I. Molto Lento-Allegro Molto
The first movement begins with a 58 second intro consisting of a Slow, rising conjunct crescendo
melody with the 4 instruments played in unison at a triple meter. From 0:58 to 1:07, there’s a fast
decrescendo sequence of primarily violin notes backed up by a low cello beat, followed by a fast,
disjunct melody of instruments playing in unison, leading into a slow viola solo from 1:54 2:08,
joined by the other instruments afterwards. Another short disjunct melody eventually leads into a
series of notes similar to the ones from 0:58-1:03, after which another short disjunct crescendo
sequence before fading into a quieter, slower viola solo shortly joined the violin at 3:44. Finally,
there’s a melody led by the violin backed up by the other instruments playing in unison, which it
then joins as the movement fades out.
Overall, the tone of this movement is mostly calm with a few fast, frantic parts, as
“Moto Lento-Allegro Molto” would suggest, with “Lento-Allegro” essentially
meaning fast-slow.
II. Presto
Movement II opens with a frantic-sounding one-note violin crescendo punctuated by
short, high-pitched viola riffs, fading out at 0:21. 0:22-0:33 consists of a triple Cello beat
in unison with a viola, harmonized with the other instruments playing the same rhythm from the
opening in unison. 0:33-1:18 is a disjunct decrescendo sequence with a duple meter, followed
by a crescendo melody played to a similar rhythm as before, which briefly slows down and then
comes back before being cut off by a loud cello riff at the end of the movement
This movement struck me as very tense and suspenseful, like something you might hear in Jaws
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or a similarly suspenseful movie or situation. It was also very fast-paced, doing justice to the
“Presto” marker.
III. Lento Espressivo
Contrasting the previous movement, movement III opens with a
calm, slow melody lead by a viola harmonized with other instruments playing in unison at a
duple meter, followed by a viola solo at 1:06, leading into a duet with the violin at 1:25.
1:36 marks the start of a low decrescendo melody, occasionally punctuated by a quick violin riff.
2:55-3:14 consists of a somewhat more “tense” melody led by a viola and punctuated by violin
triplets. At 3:15, the music slows back down into a low melody of the violin and viola in
harmony, which remains mostly consistent before fading out at the end of the movement.
“Lento Espressivo” means “Slow and Expressive”, which I think is a fitting description for this
slow, vaguely emotional part of the song. It’s also very relaxing and comforting to hear after the
frantic, tense tone of movement II.
IV. Allegro
The fourth and final movement begins with a fast-paced conjunct crescendo melody with a
triple meter, briefly lowering in volume at 0:16 before starting a new disjunct melody of a viola
backed up by a violin played at a duple meter. At 0:33, the volume once again briefly before a
a quick Cello riff, followed by a few more notes and another Cello riff at 0:38 before the volume
rises for a violin-led crescendo melody, followed at 1:13 by a frantic melody of all instruments
played in unison. 1:19 marks the start of a series of Violin pizzicato notes, joined by
another violin at 2:00, and then the viola at 2:26. 2:41 marks the start of another sequence of all
instruments playing in unison with a frantic crescendo melody before three violin notes at 3:03.
After a brief melody with a violin harmonized with the viola, the song ends with another melody
of all of the instruments in unison. This song seemed even more frantic than the “Presto”
movement, despite technically not being as fast.
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The second song that I will analyze is Maconchy’s Quintet for Oboe and Strings, a piece
that won the Daily Telegraph’s chamber music competition in 1932, and that I listened to a
recording of by musical group Poliedrica, released December 29, 2023. Like String Quartet No.
5, this song also has a polyphonic melody, but with a time signature of 3/4 instead of 4/4. As the
name might suggest, it consists of the same instruments as a string quartet, in addition to an
Oboe. Unlike String Quartet No 5, it consists of only 3 movements rather than 4.
I. Moderato
The first movement of the piece opens with a conjunct Oboe melody, accompanied by a disjunct
viola starting at 0:08. 0:18-0:22 consists of a single, long note on the oboe while the viola
continues playing as normal. 0:23 marks the start of a new melody consisting of the Oboe and
Violin playing in harmony, joined by the Violin at 0:30. 1:45-1:59 consists of a long melody of
all the instruments in harmony.
0:33-0:42 marks an Oboe solo, punctuated at 0:37 by a single Pizzicato note on the viola. A
new viola melody begins at 0:43, shortly joined by the oboe at 0:47, and then the cello at 0:55.
At 2:10, the song music briefly fades out, before starting a sequence of all 5 instruments playing
in harmony from 2:12 to 2:51. 2:52-2:55 consists of a few loud solo notes on the viola, joined by
the Oboe at 2:56. 3:44-3:48 is an Oboe melody very similar to the one at 0:33, but this time
backed up by a violin, which takes over as the lead instrument at 3:51, harmonized with the rest
of the string instruments. The string instruments remain dominant up until 4:51, where the
movement closes out with an Oboe melody backed up by the viola.
To me, this song seemed mostly relaxing and somewhat slow-paced, with the occasional faster,
whimsical segments usually led by the Oboe.
II. Poco sostenuto
The Poco sostenuto movement of the piece starts out with an Oboe crescendo melody,
harmonizing with the violin at 0:44.
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At 0:48, a decrescendo melody begins consisting of only string instruments in harmony, with the
oboe not returning until 1:03. This happens again at 1:24 with the strings lead by the violin, and
oboe returning to the melody at 2:42. 2:50-3:20, however, consists solely of Oboe, before the
violin joins in before the movement ends.
The analysis of this movement was noticeably shorter than the previous one, which is not only
because the movement itself is shorter, but also because the overall melody and texture of the
song are noticeably simpler and less varied, ergo there was overall less to go through. I will say
that it was mostly relaxing compared to the more alternating tone of Movement I.
III. Allegro non tropo
The third and final movement begins with a disjunct, vaguely relaxing yet whimsical Oboe
melody harmonized with the viola in the background. At 0:13, the Oboe fades out and the violin
begins a very similar crescendo melody before the Oboe returns at 0:18, before fading out again
at 0:22, leading into a viola melody played to a very similar rhythm, joined by the violin in
unison at 0:33, and returning to the Oboe at 0:36, harmonizing with the cello at
0:38. 1:00 marks the start of a conjunct viola melody with a violin
pizzacotta in the background, before another crescendo melody of the Oboe and a violin in
harmony. 2:00-2:14 consists of an Oboe crescendo melody intermittently punctuated with 3-4
cello notes. At 2:50 the music softens to a slower, more relaxed Oboe melody harmonized by a
quiet violin. 3:22 marks the start of another melody that starts with just the Oboe before being
joined at 3:27 by the viola, slowly fading out as the song ends.
Overall, this song struck me as a combination of peaceful and whimsical yet melancholy, with
the faster parts serving as an upbeat compliment to the slower parts, and very few particularly
“tense” segments.
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Overall, I would say that Elizabeth Maconchy made a remarkable contribution to the world of
music, and it really is a shame that her work isn’t as prominent in the mainstream as the likes of
Beethoven and Mozart, simply because she lived in a time where women like her were treated as
“lesser” then men in most fields. At the same time, the accomplishments and recognition that she
did manage to receive are all the more remarkable given the society that she lived in and the
aforementioned treatment that women such as Maconchy received. As for her music, I noticed a
recurring theme of frequently alternating between slow and fast-paced music, and playing
instruments in unison for more “intense” parts, but overall, I’d say that her music was quite
varied in tone and theme, at least from what I’ve listened to.
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Works Cited
Geoghegan, P. M. (n.d.). Maconchy, dame elizabeth violet. Dictonary of Irish Biography.
https://www.dib.ie/biography/maconchy-dame-elizabeth-violet-a5287
Elizabeth Maconchy. | Wise Music Classical. www.wisemusicclassical.com
https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/composer/972/Elizabeth-Maconchy/
Elizabeth Maconchy | Faber Music. (2019). Fabermusic.com. https://www.fabermusic.com/werepresent/elizabeth-maconchy
Beer, A. R. (2017). Sounds and Sweet Airs: The forgotten women of classical music. Oneworld
Publications.
Bingham String Quartet String Quartet No. 5: I. Molto Lento-Allegro Molto. YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXuXgMJsQ1Q&list=OLAK5uy_luywDRb8vBrBVECB7M
87HruieVSqt0_a8&index=1&ab_channel=BinghamStringQuartet-Topic.
Bingham String Quartet (n.d.). String Quartet No. 5: II. Presto. YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXuXgMJsQ1Q&list=OLAK5uy_luywDRb8vBrBVECB7M
87HruieVSqt0_a8&index=1&ab_channel=BinghamStringQuartet-Topic.
YouTube. (n.d.). String Quartet No. 5: III. Lento espressivo. YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXuXgMJsQ1Q&list=OLAK5uy_luywDRb8vBrBVECB7M
87HruieVSqt0_a8&index=1&ab_channel=BinghamStringQuartet-Topic.
YouTube. (n.d.-b). String Quartet No. 5: IV. Allegro.. YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXuXgMJsQ1Q&list=OLAK5uy_luywDRb8vBrBVECB7M
87HruieVSqt0_a8&index=1&ab_channel=BinghamStringQuartet-Topic.
Poliedrica. (n.d.-b). Quintet for Oboe and Strings: I. Moderato. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_FaP_cfD4A&ab_channel=Release-Topic
Poliedrica. (n.d.-b). Quintet for Oboe and Strings: II. Poco sostenuto. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_FaP_cfD4A&ab_channel=Release-Topic
Poliedrica. (n.d.-b). Quintet for Oboe and Strings: III. Allegro non tropo. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_FaP_cfD4A&ab_channel=Release-Topic
Poliedrica. (n.d.-b). Quintet for Oboe and Strings: I. Moderato. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_FaP_cfD4A&ab_channel=Release-Topic
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