The
Quatuor Èbéne have left audiences moved, enthralled, excited – wherever
they have appeared. They have turned impartial critics into
groupies and conservative audiences into Jazz-fans, and along
the way they’ve convinced EMI/Virgin to sign them to an exclusive
contract. I loved the luxurious releases on Mirare - and wish
Virgin would lavish similar attention on the presentation for
the Ebène -
but moving from a boutique label to one of the big players
is certainly a move that can only help bring the quartet to
yet more audiences. A good thing, too, because their first
release is a hit that deserves Billboard status, not just notable
obscurity cherished by insiders. Ruthlessly and unabashedly
pandering to their own strengths, they chose the primary gems
from their repertoire: the Debussy and Ravel quartets, appropriately
rounded off with Fauré’s Quartet, the then 78 year old composer’s
last work.
This
choice of Fauré is ideal. For one it distinguishes them from
their in-house rivals’ – the Belcea Quartet’s – debut album on EMI which throws in Dutilleux
(as does the Juilliard Quartet), and it offers the
most intense, but never fussy or too extroverted, reading of
this somewhat neglected work. The Èbènes, who have been joyfully
reckless and exciting in the recent
live performances, show that they are as capable
of very taut, detailed, extraordinarily defined and controlled
playing, much to Fauré’s benefit. Debussy and Ravel, with overtones
of warmth and spunk, respectively, are wilder and also more
munificent affairs, unafraid of exploring extremes.
The
searing
Andantino of the Debussy sets the mood for a
luxuriant, opulent performance that becomes hugely interesting – rather
than self-indulgent – because it can switch at any point into
finely spun rhythmic phrases, forceful climaxes, and very subtle,
delicate touches. This approach takes its time, and the Quatuor Èbène
allows it that time. What makes it so successful is that there
is never the impression of slowness or of the music being pulled
around gratuitously.
The
Allegro
moderato of the Ravel blooms at a true “moderato”, it
ebbs and flows with one large, generous pulse. And yet again,
the emotional peaks are of grand intensity that benefit not
only from the contrast with the surrounding reflecting, lingering,
and even stretched music, but also from quartet-playing that
projects this emotion with one voice, as a perfectly cohesive
unit.
Assez vif – Très doux bubbles with colors in
the pizzicato part. It’s less a banjo-frenzy - as it can
be, with very excited quartets - than it is a tone-poem with
distinct aquatic, maritime qualities.
Très lent is
a very dark affair before the Quatuor Èbène finally unleash
(ever detailed)
Vif et agité like an electrical storm.
The
only quibble I have with this release is the side-effect of
an otherwise positive point: The recording is so ambient that
the slightest foot-tapping is caught on record so vividly that
it gives the impression that someone is running barefoot around
the room upstairs. This can certainly be heard listening on
speakers whose bass extends low enough to reproduce these subtle-yet-powerful
thuds.
This
is one of those releases –
among my favorites for 2008 – that one
need not be ashamed or embarrassed for assigning superlatives
to: It’s one of the most exciting recordings of both the Debussy
and the Ravel that I’ve ever heard, and one of the most beautiful,
too. I’m not giving away my Quartetto Italiano (Philips) recording any time soon, but
Virgin’s ambience-rich all-French version might just be the
best disc of these works issued in the forty-plus years since.
Jens F. Laurson
see also review by Jonathan
Woolf
Quatuor Ebène 
