Bernie Balfe

In contemporary classical music, a considerable contribution has been made to the clarinet repertoire by a number of composers. The contribution of two of these composers namely Elizabeth Maconchy and Nicola LeFanu is the subject of this dissertation. Elizabeth Maconchy was the mother of Nicola LeFanu and 2007 marked the centenary of her birth as well as the sixtieth birthday of her daughter. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the similarities that may be present in their clarinet works. This dissertation will also explore the background of both composers and provide a contextual framework for the ensuing comparison. The comparative study will look at six works in three categories, including; works for clarinet and piano, trios, and quintets. These works were written in the 1980s with the exception of Maconchy's quintet, which was composed during the 1960s. As a result of this investigation it was found that there were some musical resemblances in the trios that were both written in the same year (1983) as well as the quintets which share influences by the composer Béla Bartók. The written outcomes of this research will be considered in this dissertation.