The Chatham Saxophone Quartet is a fairly new group founded in 2008 and
this is, if I am not mistaken, their first record. The group won the Young
Musicwide Award in 2012 which triggered the idea of this album. Music
Network provided the quartet with the funding to make an album with no
constraints regarding content or design. Emphasis, however, was put on music
by Irish composers who responded wholeheartedly to the project. These words
are drawn from the quartet's notes accompanying this disc.
As can be seen from the above, the range of music is fairly broad and each
composer approached the medium in his own way. Most pieces however are
fairly short with the notable exception of the Ian Wilson score which is
quite substantial. The stylistic range, too, is wide though none of the
works recorded here sounds extravagantly modern or radical. Byrne's
Saxophone Quartet No.1 often brings some French
composers to mind such as Milhaud, Damase and Françaix and none the worse
for that. It's laid out in a single movement encompassing several
contrasted sections in turn lyrical, dancing and humorous - a colourful
kaleidoscope. I enjoyed it enormously and I wonder whether the Saxophone
Quartet No.2 by now exists. If so, I would certainly like to hear it.
As already hinted at, Ian Wilson's
heaven lay close
II is by far the longest and the most substantial work in this
recital. It was originally written for string quartet and percussion (tabla
actually) but it is heard here in a version for saxophone quartet and
bodhrán - which may be regarded as the Irish equivalent of the Indian tabla.
In his notes concerning this piece, the composer writes that each of the
four sections is based on a traditional tabla rhythmic cycle. “Each section
also has a melodic content which, although original, seeks to evoke the
spirit of the kind of music one normally associates with the tabla but now
in a more Western, classical context due to the presence of the quartet.”
True, the music does not attempt to imitate oriental clichés but rather goes
its own way although it is somewhat easier on the ear than what one has
sometimes come to expect from Ian Wilson whose music, for all its
unquestionable expressive strength, may sometimes be a bit complex and
gritty.
Brian Irvine's piece with its quite improbable long title is a
quite short Scherzo in which an auctioneer's chatter (on tape) is
mirrored in the quartet's frantic, chugging patter. A funny little
piece indeed.
Jonathan Nangle's
iridescent cobalt glow
is a short three-movement suite whose title obliquely refers to Miles
Davis' album
Kind of Blue. The composer explains that while
composing the piece he read an article concerning video games in the 1980s
and in which the phrase “iridescent cobalt blue” appeared which brought to
mind Miles Davis' album. One need not look any further into the music
which is again quite colourful and very attractive and never tries to
imitate Miles Davis' style.
Finally, Kenneth Edge's
Three Etudes for Saxophone
Quartet were conceived as “explorations of various technical
and acoustic possibilities of the saxophone quartet” but, again, the music
is quite attractive and very accessible. It has a slightly humorous touch in
the very short second movement in that the music just reflects the
movement's title “Too loud? Not loud enough”; the movement begins
almost innocently and ends with a slightly dissonant crescendo. The first
étude “Chatterbox” is exactly that whereas the third is a beautiful
miniature.
Everything here is played with technical assurance and with obvious
enjoyment. The repertoire is a bit unusual but often quite beautiful and
worth hearing. The recording is again very fine. So there is very little to
complain about when it comes to this most commendable release. I should
however point out its awfully short playing time which would have allowed
for the inclusion of some other Irish works for saxophone quartet such as
that by John Buckley. Anyway I am looking forward to any forthcoming release
by this ensemble.
Hubert Culot
