Stanford Quartets
This month's SOMM release signals the start of a significant new series of recordings of String Quartets which, quite unbelievably, have never been recorded before (apart from Nos 1 and 2), and these are the Eight Quartets by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. This first disc, recorded for SOMM by the Dante Quartet, one of Britain's finest ensembles, contains Quartets Nos 5 and 8 and on the evidence of this first disc, they deserve to gain their rightful place among the great quartets of the early twentieth century. They are a major body of work written between 1891 and 1921 and have rarely been performed, even though they are an eloquent witness of Stanford's undoubted ability as a composer of chamber music. Stanford invested a lot of his creative powers in his eight string quartets which are all 'big-boned' intellectual works, yet full of vibrantly appealing melodies, structural invention and variety, and, typical of Stanford, they reveal a consummate understanding of the idiom. With the exception of Robert Simpson, no other British composer has devoted so much effort to the quartet idiom, yet Stanford's works still remain thoroughly neglected. Much of this is down to the unavailability of performing materials since four of the quartets, Nos 4, 6, 7 and 8 are still unpublished and require editorial work for performance and recording. SOMM is grateful to Professor Jeremy Dibble for his editorial work and for being the guiding light in the recording of this first disc. Stanford wrote the Fifth Quartet in memory of his friend and mentor, violinist Joseph Joachim who died in 1907. In this Quartet Stanford included his own personal tribute in each of the four movements, a motto 'quotation' from the opening bars of Joachim's Romance Op 2 No 1 for Violin and Piano from Drei Stücke für Violine und Klavier played here by Krysia Osostowicz and Mark Bebbington, included on this recording for its strong connection to Quartet No 5. In Stanford's view, Joachim was not the sort of man whose memory could be associated with sadness, and this is certainly true of the buoyant first movement with its energetic first subject and the breezy lyrical expansiveness of the second. The Intermezzo second movement is derived from the opening material of the first movement. The slow movement is an elegy and an essay of extraordinary intensity but the sense of sorrow is dispelled in the cheerful, optimistic finale in which the 'motto' quotation ends in a reflective and valedictory mood, bringing the work to a gentle conclusion. Quartet No 8 was written late in Stanford's life and for all its light-hearted gestures is a dark, introspective work in a minor key. Yet it shows a high level of invention typical of Stanford's romantic style and clean classical thinking. It is more sombre in disposition and conveys a mood of nostalgia and longing for a past era, with Stanford cleaving to the tradition of German chamber music. The first movement is restless and introspective followed by an Allegretto second movement which has lighter textures and simple melodies, though it is here more than anywhere else in this work that Stanford shows his consummate understanding of the technical capabilities of the quartet. The substantial Canzona which follows shows Stanford at his most romantically original and enchanting. The quartet ends with a movement redolent of Haydn's brilliant and breathless finales in which the sound of Irish folk music is a vibrant component. Yet this infectious sense of élan soon gives way to a coda conveying a genuine mood of resignation and sadness. Winner of the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award for chamber music in 2007 and a BBC Music Magazine Award in 2009, the Dante Quartet (Krysia Osostowicz, violin, Oscar Perks, violin, Yuko Inoue, viola and Richard Jenkinson, cello) is one of Britain's finest ensembles. Founded in 1995, the quartet chose Dante's name to reflect the idea of a great journey. Renowned for its imaginative programming and emotionally charged performances, the Dante Quartet appears at the major UK festivals and music societies, broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and has also toured France, Germany, Spain, Holland, Poland, Finland and Japan. The quartet has made four highly acclaimed recordings for Hyperion, and for seven years held a residency at King's College Cambridge. Devoted to the core classics, including the complete Beethoven Quartet cycle, the Dante Quartet equally enjoys bringing to light new or neglected repertoire. Committed also to teaching, the Dante Quartet gives masterclasses in the UK and runs a high-level chamber music course in the South of France. The quartet has its own annual Dante Summer a Festival in the Tamar Valley, in which they create new musical projects and collaborations, attracting young people to chamber music and building up an enthusiastic audience in intimate and beautiful surroundings. The release date for this first ever recording of Stanford's String Quartets Nos 5 and 8, SOMMCD 0160, is 30 September 2016.
Information: www.somm-recordings.com
Posted: 16 September 2016
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