In Friendship
César CANO (b.1960) Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, Op.74
(2011) [20:22]
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) Quintet in B Minor for Clarinet
and Strings, Op.115 (1891) [39:10]
Joan Enric Lluna (clarinet)
The Alexander String Quartet (Zakarias Grafilo, Fred Lifsitz (violins), Paul
Yarbrough (viola), Sandy Wilson (cello))
rec. 12-14 July 2011, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Belvedere, California.
FOGHORN CLASSICS CD2007 [59:38]
The Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet is his masterpiece, and possibly his most
universally loved creation. I’d say that in any chamber music hit-parade it
would make the Top Five. By the time he wrote it, the composer had reached
the peak of communication directly between his soul and the soul of the listener.
The four movements of the quintet are like a well-filmed movie, showing intimate
and profound feelings as well as both action and introspection.
As with all great works, this one allows for different readings. In this performance
the first movement does not relax too far, it retains its inherent energy
and that sense of flight. Its tenderness is muscular, and the yearning is
more dramatic than melancholic. This temperament is somewhat reminiscent of
the first movement of Brahms’ Second Symphony. The development section is
pensive yet wakeful. The clarinet is firm and masculine, and blends well with
the crisp white sound of the Alexander strings. This more energetic presentation
of the first movement emphasizes the second as a true slow movement: a soft,
feline reverie, with a hushed interplay of shadows and hints. The “gypsy-hued”
middle episode is expressive. The sound of the clarinet is a shade hard but
is not harsh. Its intonations are beautiful and the transitions between the
notes are accurate and even. The playing is assured and smooth.
The lively third movement is full of Brahms’ signature mood-changes between
smiles and blues. The performance is active and friendly. It is on the fast
side and has a certain cool Mendelssohnian bustle. The finale is once again
full of lyrical yearning. Some of the variations are dramatic and turbulent;
others plaintive or quietly nostalgic. The theme bears a resemblance to a
Slavic folk song; perhaps the influence of Dvoràk. The players do not dawdle,
but the speed is excessive, and there is the same feeling of flight as in
the first movement. The clarinet avoids foamy bubbling and the leaps and flourishes
are accurate and clean. By and large, the performance of the entire quintet
is cool and fresh never breathless. The ensemble is carefully balanced. This
music is often described as autumnal, but this performance has a
wintry signature that still conveys the work’s melancholic beauty.
The Clarinet Quintet of César Cano comes from a different world. The
first movement, entitled Veiled Proportions, is quite Bartòkian.
It starts with a slower introduction, and then picks up tempo and density.
The music is poly-rhythmic, dark and jazzy, with jagged spikes. Although quite
modern, it is never ugly. Reason and logic are there in the fabric. The second
movement, Echoes and Duels, is a lightly galloping Scherzo, dry and
bouncy, with instruments running one after another and playing in ricochet.
Again, I sense the spirit of Bartòk, which is supported by the Balkan character
of the short main motif. The music has a serious musical structure, a rich
rhythmic base and a certain “healthy wildness”.
The third movement Oblique Chants is slow and mysterious, like a
night in the jungle. It explores interesting sonic effects and creates a mesmeric,
glistening and throbbing sound-space. The finale has the title Florid
Pulse and is again driven by sophisticated rhythmic patterns; the booklet
mentions various internal reorganizations of 7/8, 8/8 and 9/8 meters. This
is not an empty-headed, garrulous finale, but a serious, multi-layered movement
with tension and drive. The music is energetic, with gradually increasing
speed and tension, rolling forward to a final stretch of happy running.
Overall, this Cano quintet leaves the impression of a very well made contemporary
work and I was impressed by its musicality. The calculations are careful and
the theoretical “technology” employed by the composer does not obtrude or
compromise things at an emotional level. Not a single minute of the work is
boring. The performance flows as in the Brahms and the feeling of empathy
between clarinetist and string players is striking. The blend and the balance
are perfect.
The album is called In Friendship, and the booklet asserts that the
best works for clarinet and strings, those by Mozart, Weber, Brahms and Nielsen,
were created when the inspirational clarinetist was the composer’s friend.
This is also the case with the new work by Cano. Indeed, there is otherwise
little in common between the two quintets except for the forces involved.
I doubt that you will want every time to hear both works in sequence. However,
depending on your mood, you may want to return either to the dark and gritty
Cano, or to the lean and luminous Brahms.
The recording quality is very good: detailed yet not too close, light and
transparent. The sound has a certain “plastic-synthetic” quality, though not
to a disturbing level. The booklet recounts in English and Spanish the history
of “clarinet plus strings” formula. The works, the composer César Cano and
the performers are all profiled. The notes are nicely spiced with personal
reflections from the Alexander Quartet members. As with all the other records
of the Alexander Quartet that I have heard, this one presents inspired performances
of inspired music.
Oleg Ledeniov
Inspired performances of inspired music.
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