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Michael NYMAN (b.1944)
The Suit and the Photograph
String Quartet No.4 (1995-5) [41:57]
3 Quartets (1994) [14:24]
Camilli Quartet
(String Quartet)
Michael Nyman band (3 Quartets)
rec. Galaxy Recording Studio, Mol, Belgium, 17-20 November
1995 EMI CLASSICS
56574 [56:21]
This
is an Arkiv reissue of a CD released in 1998, and is complete
in every regard, Nyman’s own booklet notes included. The
only difference I can see is the lack of the red liner under
what would have been a transparent CD tray, and the dark
blue colour of the original CD which went with the main colour
of the design. Not huge compromises then, to have two classic
Nyman works available once more.
Michael
Nyman’s first three string quartets appeared on the Argo
label, and display a mixed bag of musical and extra-musical
origins. String Quartet No.4 was developed downwards
as it where, written under a piece commissioned by violinist
Yohi Yamamoto – Yamamoto Perpetuo – the solo
violin part being kept intact, and the rest of the quartet
being written underneath it. European folk elements appear
in the material partly as the result of a request by Yamamoto,
and so some modified Scottish popular tunes appear here and
there, as well as what to me sound like some eastern European
textures in the rest of the quartet. Neither of these features
are particularly dominant however, and the overall effect
is an alternation between Nyman’s more ‘pastoral’ style in
some of the slower movements, and snappy or driving rhythms
in the faster sections.
String Quartet
No.4 was written for the Camilli Quartet, who also gave
the first performance in April 1995, the same year as this
recording. Fans of Nyman will probably already have an idea
of what to expect – there are some minimalistic elements,
but none which are particularly extended. The work avoids
some of the melodic soppiness which plagues ‘The Piano’ even
where Nyman is at his most romantic, but again, there isn’t
much in the way of memorable melody in the piece either.
The performance is excellent of course, but even as a fully
paid-up Nyman fan I can’t say this is his most successful
piece. In this kind of purely instrumental work Nyman is
at his best where he has more colour at his disposal, and
less time on his hands. After a while the quartet sound becomes
a little relentless, and at over 40 minutes I think most
of us are ready to change discs after about half an hour.
This is however great concert music, and would doubtless
impress more with the musicians live an impassioned in front
of us – as a recording it is more for the die-hard aficionado.
The title 3
Quartets in the second work refers to the three instrumental
combinations used: string quartet, saxophone quartet and
a brass quartet with 2 trumpets, horn and bass trombone.
In essence it proves my point about variety in tonal palette – the
waves of melody and counterpoint sounding more clear with
changes in instrument, and textural contrast in accompanying
figurations making for a more appealing romp than in the
string quartet. John Harle’s distinctive soprano saxophone
solos penetrate the ensemble with a particular intensity,
and with a more compact framework the piece as a whole has
more vitality than the longer quartet. With this said, even
this work is pretty heavy and unrelenting for most of the
time, perhaps not entirely helped by quite a closely focused
if not overly dry studio recording.
The title ‘The
Suit and the Photograph’ is a quote from John Berger’s debatable
analysis of the fascinating cover photo, an example of the
work of German photographer August Sander, who attempted to
record every possible kind of class and profession in Germany
in the first part of the 20th century. To sum up
the disc, this is grand music, but not something I’ve listened
to a great deal in all the years I’ve owned the original release.
Maybe I’m getting too old for this kind of thing…
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