Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Premier Quatuor, Op. 10 (1893) [26:51]
Deux Danses (1904)* [10:44]
Premier Trio (1880)† [21:59]
Reverie (c. 1890) [5:52]
Chris Laurence (double-bass), Sioned Williams (harp)* ; Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
(piano)†; Brodsky Quartet
rec. 18-19 October and 1 November (Premier Trio) 2011, Potton
Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk.
CHANDOS CHAN 10717 [65:29]
The Brodsky Quartet makes its intentions clear from the first bars of
Debussy’s Opus 10 String Quartet: this is by no means going to
be an atmospheric echo of impressionism, but an interpretation in which
every single stress and emotive extreme is going to be exploited and laid
bare. The Brodsky players do plenty in terms of colour, carefully defining
sonorities and throwing up contrasts of dynamic not only through weight of
bowing, but also through changes of timbre and layering of textures. This
gives the music an added sense of detail, as well as highlighting expressive
points.
There are numerous excellent recordings of Debussy’s String
Quartet around, and while still a very noble account, even that with the
Alban Berg quartet on EMI (see review) now sounds a bit smooth and slick by comparison after some
time with this new Chandos recording. Another old favourite recording of the
String Quartet is that with the Chilingirian Quartet, which can be
had as a bargain from EMI Classics for Pleasure. The ensemble is superbly
well integrated, and plays with the most natural sense of phrasing
you’ll hear anywhere. Comparing this with the Brodsky Quartet makes
the Chilingirian Quartet sound almost generalised in terms of sound. This
closely observed and intensely prepared approach might have ended up
sounding picky and analytical, but the urgency and drama in the first two
movements is compelling, and the feel of warm expression in the third
movement, including some portamento slides, is irresistible. The bluesy
parallel progressions which open the fourth movement are also done with some
cheeky but understated note-bending which I confess to finding marvellous -
it’s certainly a different and more daring approach than from the
Chilingirian players. Needle sharp rhythmic observation and tonal nuance
again characterises the more vif sections later on in the movement.
This is a recording which will still have plenty to offer even in ten years
from now, and fans of the work should sally forth and acquire forthwith.
Originally for harp and string orchestra, the Deux Danses is a
work which pops up now and again in programmes with harp concertos. Written
for a now obsolete design by Pleyel for a fully chromatic harp, the work is
playable on the pedal harp which is now the instrument of choice, but with a
cathedral organist’s deftness of foot required in some sections. The
arrangement for string quartet with added double bass works very well, and
the Brodsky Quartet prove sensitive accompanists, warming their tone to
match the rounded sonorities of the harp. This is a performance of grace and
charm which can certainly beat many an orchestral recording for transparency
and expressive communicability.
The second of the two main works on this disc is the Piano Trio,
written when the composer was but a lad of eighteen. Recommended by his
piano teacher to Tchaikovsky’s patroness Nadejda von Meck, Debussy
travelled with her and her children in 1880, giving lessons and
sight-reading piano parts at chamber music evenings. Debussy’s own
work for this setting is a romantic charmer, full of lovely tunes and
imitative exchanges between the instruments, and the performers here
communicate all these aspects of the music perfectly. The balance between
piano and strings is ideal, with no one instrument too prominent, and if
anything Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s piano on the less advantageous side.
There is no attempt to seek angst and drama where none was intended, and
while the music goes further than being mere salon entertainment there is a
lightness of touch in this performance and recording which seems to take us
back in time. For this Trio the top alternative choice has to be the
beautifully made Hyperion recording made by the Florestan Trio on CDA 67114,
and I would be hard pressed to make a decision one way or the other as to
which I would prefer on a desert island. The Hyperion recording has a warmer
piano tone, but the strings are the richer and more vibrantly eloquent with
Chandos. In the end it will be the couplings which will be the decider, with
the Hyperion disc having further trios by Fauré and Ravel.
This programme ends with the piano solo Rêverie in an
arrangement for string quartet. This was one of several piano pieces written
by Debussy to earn some money in the salon market, and while it is worlds
away from the String Quartet it goes well after the gentler moods of
the Piano Trio. Even with its commercial clientele in mind it is
still easy to hear Debussy’s inclination towards sophisticated
harmonic progressions and a feel for elusive and exotic atmosphere. The
string version emphasises this more than the piano original, and to my ears
more than the orchestral arrangements I’ve heard, which emphasise the
more dreamy side of the work through added textures and the throwing of the
melodies between soloists.
To sum up, this is a superb Debussy disc to have. The String
Quartet performance is the main attraction, and is superlatively
performed and recorded. None of the additional works is negligible, and all
are given eminently rewarding performances.
Dominy Clements
Superlative String Quartet - excellent programme.