Sir Arthur Somervell (born Windermere, 5 June 1863; died London, 2 May 1937) was one of those people capable of making a show on any instrument he picked up. Although there is no evidence that he had any tuition on the clarinet, our illustration shows that he did play it; and its date—circa 1913—is significant, for it was precisely at this period that he was writing the Clarinet Quintet recorded here.