Acte Préalable
continues its long run of world-premiere
recordings in this quite enjoyable release.
Those who are Haydn
enthusiasts will very likely find this
disc of interest, not to mention those
who are attracted to performances of
newly-discovered period repertoire.
Franciszek Lessel, much of whose music
has not survived - the flute quartet
was considered up until fairly recently
the only surviving quartet - studied
with Haydn over the years of 1799-1809
and was considered one of Haydn’s more
talented pupils. Born in Warsaw to a
musical family - his father was also
a composer - he served as Kapellmeister
in Pulawy, but went to Vienna at the
age of 19 to study medicine. Little
is known about this period of his life,
but it is evident that music won out
over medicine, in that his studies with
Haydn took place very shortly thereafter.
History shows a far
greater catalogue of works, sadly, than
appear today: three sonatas, two fantasies
and polonaises for solo piano, six symphonies,
of which only one finale survives, and
no less than eleven string quartets,
of which only the present works on this
recording survive in their entirety.
The pieces here show a definite debt
to Haydn’s style, but they do display
evidence of an independent voice working
its way from the great shadow that Haydn
cast. From the pieces here, Lessel fits
in sound-wise between Haydn and Beethoven,
with a far more snug fit on the Haydn
side.
The Op. 19 string quartet
is greatly enjoyable; its sense of scale
and structure is lovely, focusing mainly
on the first violin to introduce the
thematic material, with the other parts
involved more intensely with the development.
The Haydn influence is evident from
the opening bars to the overall structure
of the piece in four movements. The
opening movement has tuneful themes,
beautifully played by Wilanow quartet.
The second movement is a showcase for
Gadzina, who presents the beautiful
melodic line of this movement with grace
and taste. The piece was discovered
only ten years ago in the collection
of the National Library in Paris and
first performed shortly after, in 1996.
The piece breaks no great new ground
between the grand schemes plotted out
by Haydn and Beethoven, but it remains
a work of great craftsmanship and balance;
a greatly dignified and stately work.
The Wilanow quartet performs it beautifully.
The Flute Quartet Op.
3 of 1806 was, up to the point that
the Op. 19 was discovered, considered
the only surviving quartet of Lessel’s
eleven. This piece is charming also
and the tone of Gajewska’s flute here
is warm and expressive. It is perhaps
a bit too heavy on the reverb, which
admittedly helps with integrating the
woodwind into the strings, but it sounds
a mite artificial in playback. The first
theme of the first movement is a syncopated
slide down the scale. This isn’t quite
as appealing as the lovely melodies
of the Op. 19 quartet. However the music
here is written with a great sense of
balance and with the instruments involved;
extremely enjoyable. The other movements
doff the hat to Polish folk music, but
things tend to stay quite civilized
and well-trimmed with just a touch of
the rustic. Throughout the flute quartet,
Gajewska retains a beautifully expressive
warm tone working beautifully with the
Wilanow throughout.
Though little remains
of Lessel’s works, it would be a shame
if this were all that the public had
access to, based on the outgoing charm
these pieces hold. This reviewer hopes
that more of the surviving works of
this Haydn student eventually find their
way onto disc in the near future.
David Blomenberg
Full
Acte Préalable Catalogue
Winlanow String Quartet (Tadeusz Gadzina (violin
1); Pavel Losakiewicz (violin 2); Ryszard Duz
(viola); Marian Wasiolka (cello); *Elzbieta Gajewska
(flute)) 
for
details
