Ernest John Moeran

Sonata for Cello & Piano

In the second half of his life, Moeran greatly extended his sensibilities and his musical palate to include more energetic and vigorous rhythms, harmonic colours and tonalities. In the Sonata for ViolonCello and Piano, the listener will find grandeur in the first movement and an intricate rondo in the finale. It is a piece by a composer who has taken an expansive step beyond his immediate surroundings and first influences.

E J Moeran was a 20th century British composer of Anglo-Irish background who spent his early years in Norfolk and influences of folksong and programmatic elements can be easily heard in this composer's main body of work. Moeran tended toward the smaller ensembles in his compositions, which gave an appropriate frame for his lyric gifts.