Gramophone – September 2019

68 GRAMOPHONE SEPTEMBER 2019 gramophone.co.uk

Debussy.Kernis

‘TheKernisProject:Debussy’
DebussyStringQuartet,Op 10
KernisStringQuartetNo3,‘River’
JasperQuartet
SonoLuminusFDSL92233(63’• DDD)

Asviolaplayer
SamQuintal’s
introductorynote
celebrates,thisdisc
‘markstheculmination’oftheJasper
Quartet’s10-yearinvolvementwith
AaronJayKernis’sstringquartets.
Havingplayedandrecordedthefirsttwo,
theycommissionedaThirdfromhimin
2015,aworkthat‘surpasseditstwo
precedingquartetsincomplexityand
difficulty’andofwhichtheymadethis
recordinginDecember2017.Havingthe
composer’sidiomsofirmlyundertheir
fingersnow,Idowonderaboutthat
‘culmination’;IcanquiteimagineKernis
(b1960)mighthaveafewmorequartets
inhimforsocommittedandvirtuoso
anensemble.
TheThirdQuartet,subtitledRiver,
iscastinaBartókianfive-movement
design,threesubstantialspans–‘Source’,
‘MirroredSurface–Flux–Reflections’
and‘Mouth/Estuary’separatedbytwo
shorterinterludes,‘Flow/Surge’and
‘Cavatina’(thislastahangoverfromthe
composer’soriginalintendedmodelof
Beethoven’sOp131).Ebbandflow,
‘changeandflux’arethekeyelements
throughout,withsomevividlyimagined
andintensewritingintheouter
movementsandmomentsofrealdelicacy
between.Thepowerfulimageofthe
riverthatrunsthroughthewholework
(fromsourcetoestuary,indeed)derives
fromRomainRolland’sJean-Christophe,
thoughKarlOveKnausgaard’s
autobiographyprovedeven‘morevitally
influential’forthework’smusical
processes.TheJasperQuartet’saccount
iscompelling.
Thequartet’spreviousdiscspaired
Kernis’sFirstQuartet,Musicacelestis,with
Schubert’sDeathandtheMaiden(9/12US)
andtheSecond,Musicainstrumentalis,
withBeethoven’sThird‘Razumovsky’
ayearlater(2/12US).ForNo3,they
moveawayfromtheClassicalerafor
thecoupling,Debussy’senchanting
earlyQuartetof1893.Itmakesfornice
contrastandtheJasper’sperformances
ofbothareflawlessinensembleand
intonation,expressivelyassuredand
beautifullybalanced.Thesoundquality
isfirst-rate.GuyRickards

Finger

‘ABohemianinLondon’

ThirteenSonatas

DuoDorado

ChandosChaconneFCHAN0824(78’• DDD)

GottfriedFinger

(1655-1730)isone

ofthosefiguresyou

mightknowfrom

mixed-composerdiscsbutrarelyfindas

asoleoccupier.Arecordersonataortwo,

asonatafortrumpet(aninstrumenthe

played)–thesearewhatyouusually

comeacross.Hissonatasforviolada

gamba(anotherofhisinstruments)have

alsobeenrecorded.Buttheonlyother

thingtheLondon-residentBohemian

isknownforiscomingfourthandlast

inacompetitiontosetCongreve’s

TheJudgementofParisin1701,and

complainingasheleftEnglandin

highdudgeonthathe‘hadthought

tobejudgedbymen,notbyboys’.

Exactlyhowjustifiedhissourgrapes

werewecannotknow,becausesadly

hissettingislonglost(itwouldmake

agoodfindforsomeone);butcertainly

hewaswellthoughtofbyhis

Londonpeers.

Finger’sviolinsonatasaremostlynew

territory,then.DuoDoradoviolinist

HazelBrooksnumbers 20 inher

enthusiasticandinformativebooklet

notes,andthefactthatshehasrecorded

13 ofthem,totalling 78 minutes,suggests

thatshewouldhavedonethemallifshe

could.Even 13 makethisrecordingmore

ofadocumentthanasit-downlisten,

mind;butwhilethemusicmaybebest

consumedinsmallbites,itissoundly

written,andwithitspatchworkmixof

thestyleFingerwouldhavelearntfrom

thelikesofBiberbackinhisBohemian

homeland(double-stopping,rolling

variation-setsandacertainrichnessand

weight),thefashionableandmoreshapely

mannerofCorelli,andtheoccasional

whiffofhomelyEnglishmelody,ithas

apluckycharacterofitsown.

Brooksandherkeyboardpartner

DavidPollockprovidethoroughlyclean

andcompetentperformances,respectful

ofthemusicandcarefulofoverbearing

itwithexcessiveornamentationandother

additions–whichisnottosaythat

Pollock’scontinuo-playingdoesnot

succeedinfindingvarietyfromjusta

harpsichordandafirmlyfocusedchamber

organ.Notcompulsorylisteningreally,

butcertainlyawell-executedpresentation.

LindsayKemp

Finzi

FiveBagatelles,Op 23 a. ByFootpathandStile,

Op 2 b. Elegy,Op22.Interlude,Op 21 c. Prelude.

Romance,Op 11

bMarcusFarnsworthbarcRuthBolisterob

aRobertPlaneclFinziQuartet

ResonusFRES10109(73’• DDD)

Originally issued in

2012 as a digital-only

offering, this lovely

Finzi programme now

makes a welcome debut on silver disc. The

composer’s first work to appear in print,

the 1921-22 song-cycle By Footpath and

Stile sets six poems by Thomas Hardy for

baritone and string quartet, its chamber

instrumentation following the example

of George Butterworth’s (then recently

published) Love Blows as the Wind Blows

and Vaughan Williams’s On Wenlock Edge.

Marcus Farnsworth sings with beguilingly

fresh timbre and winning strength of

characterisation, and his nourishing

partnership with the Finzi Quartet has

ravishing poise, tenderness and depth

of expression to commend it. Likewise,

oboist Ruth Bolister shines in the

Interlude, a splendidly inventive,

harmonically tangy and impeccably

crafted essay dating from 1933 (and much

admired by, among others, Rubbra and

Vaughan Williams).

Commissioned by David Campbell

and the Endellion Quartet to celebrate

the composer’s centenary in 2001,

Christian Alexander’s deft arrangement of

the popular Five Bagatelles is wonderfully

served here, with BBC National Orchestra

of Wales principal clarinet Robert Plane’s

characteristically unruffled, golden-toned

contribution a constant source of pleasure.

Of the three remaining items (all fashioned

by Alexander at the behest of the Finzi

Quartet), I find myself especially taken

with the posthumously published Prelude

(its part-writing discreetly peppered with

false relations), but both the Romance and

Elegy come off beautifully, too.

Production values (courtesy of Resonus’s

founder Adam Binks) are all one could

desire. In other words, if you missed out

on this delectable release first time round,

you’ve no excuse now. Andrew Achenbach

E Fox

‘Paths’

Café Warsaw 1944a. Malinconia militaire. On

Visiting Stravinsky’s Grave at San Michele. Paths

Where the Mourners Treada. Quasi una cadenza

Goldield Ensemble / aRichard Baker

NMC F NMCD254 (77’ • DDD)

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