British-born composer and violist Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) is best known for the sonata she composed for her own instrument. One of few works by any woman composer to have entered the mainstream repertoire, Clarke described the sonata as "the one whiff of success that I've had in my life," yet it was greeted with skepticism when published in 1921. "The rumour around was that I hadn't written the thing myself," Clarke recalled, after one critic had suggested that her name was, in fact, a pseudonym for Ernest Bloch!

The work has three movements. The first (Impetuoso), opens with a dotted-note idea based on leaping intervals of a fifth. A viola cadenza follows, and the second theme is relaxed and sustained in character. A further motif, near the start of the development, suggests Native American music (misterioso). There follows a scherzo, in 6/8 time, with rondo characteristics, whose restlessness is underscored by the use of tri-tone intervals. The trio section brings effective dynamic and motivic contrasts. The finale (Adagio) features blocks of meditative, initially slow-moving music, with echoes of the first movement interposing. A forceful ending brings a return of the sonata's opening gesture. The work was written for a competition arranged by the Berkshire Festival Committee in 1918. It attracted 72 entrants, though the result was a tie between Clarke's Sonata and a solo Suite by Bloch.

© Michael Jameson, Rovi