Quasi Pastorale (Six Pieces, No. 4)

Joseph Cox Bridge (1853-1929) was an English organist and composer. Born at Rochester, Kent, studied under John Hopkins and his elder brother, Frederick, who later became organist of Westminster Abbey.

From 1871 to 1876 he was organist of Exeter College, Oxford, and received his Mus. B. in 1876. He was assistant to his brother at Manchester Cathedral, before being appointed to Chester Cathedral in 1877. There he revived the Chester triennial festival. In 1908 he became a professor at the University of Durham.

His works include an oratorio, "Daniel" (1885); a "Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in C", for voice and orchestra (1879); and a considerable amount of organ-music, anthems, and part-songs.

"Quasi Pastorale" is taken from "Original Compositions" published by Weekes and Co. in 1885, and "Inscribed to J. B. Miller, Ffolliett House, Chester". It is the fourth piece in the collection.

This piece certainly shows the "rustic" aspect of the Peterborough Hill, especially the Swell Hautboy, which is the dominant voice/sound throughout the entire brief work.

The 4' Flute of the Choir is also heard as a solo voice, although the passages played upon it are mostly small, short phrases.

For variety, and for a softer sound, the last section is played upon the Swell Contra Oboe 16', speaking an octave higher through the super-coupler and the unison off.

The Solo Clarinet is also heard briefly.

This VERY Italian work is best done as simply as possible. I tried to "fancy it up" in a number of ways, but always returned to the simplest approach.

The score for the six pieces, NOW COMPLETE, courtesy of Dr. John Henderson is attached below, as well as a photo Joseph Cox Bridge, one of his brother, Frederick, and photos of Manchester and Chester cathedrals, as well as the splendid memorial to Joseph Bridge in Chester.

I plan to do the complete set of six, so, I'll do the "Fanfare" again, this time with a more "traditional" use of the organ. :-)