Debussy; Fauré; Ravel - String Quartets (Quatuor Ebène)

Information

Composer: Claude Debussy; Gabriel Fauré; Maurice Ravel

• Debussy - String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10
• Fauré - String Quartet in E minor, Op. 121
• Ravel - String Quartet in F major

Quatuor Ébène

    Pierre Colombet, violin

    Gabriel Le Magadure, violin

    Mathieu Herzog, viola

    Raphaël Merlin, cello

Date: 2008

Label: Virgin

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Review

Among the many breathtaking moments on the Ebène Quartet’s CD, there is one in particular that keeps calling one back. It occurs at around 1’14” into the Ravel’s slow movement, the second set, which enters like a bittersweet memory before a literal recollection of the Quartet’s opening motif. Other subtle details of interpretation include the chord at 2’03” that underpins a transformation of the first subject before the same chord leads directly into the second subject – and when it does, utterly changing in character, turning warmer, more openly inviting. The ebb and flow of the passage at 5’29” where the second subject rides above an arpeggiated accompaniment, music that looks both forwards to Debussy’s own La mer and backwards to Rimsky’s Sheherazade (or so it seems). There’s a fluidity to the Ebène’s playing of both works that suits the music’s character, a mood of wistfulness too that the Ravel especially benefits from. This improvisatory approach is hardly surprising from an ensemble that is also celebrated for its jazz performances.

It was a brilliant idea to include Fauré’s late Quartet which, in a sense, provides the linchpin for all three works, the Ravel having been composed in Fauré’s class to mark the 10th anniversary of Debussy’s Quartet, and which is dedicated to Fauré. An extraordinary work by any standards, ethereal and other-worldly, with themes that seem constantly to be drawn skywards, Fauré’s Quartet responds well to the Ebène’s sensitised approach.

Anyone requiring this particular trio of works won’t be disappointed, which makes the various pairings of the Ravel and Debussy quartets on their own seem somewhat less enticing.

— Rob Cowan

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Claude Debussy (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer who was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His orchestral works include Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (1894), Nocturnes (1897–1899), Images (1905–1912), and La mer (1903–1905). His piano works include sets of 24 Préludes and 12 Études. Throughout his career Debussy also wrote mélodies based on a wide variety of poetry, including his own. His works have strongly influenced a wide range of composers including Béla Bartók, Olivier Messiaen, George Benjamin, and the jazz musician Bill Evans.

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Gabriel Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer. A student of Camille Saint-Saëns, he served as an organist before joining the Paris Conservatory in 1897 and later becoming its director in 1905. Fauré composed influential works across multiple genres, including orchestral, chamber, piano, vocal and church music. His notable compositions include the Requiem, Pavane, Pelléas et Mélisande, numerous songs and piano pieces. Renowned for his lyrical elegance and emotional subtlety, Fauré influenced later composers such as Maurice Ravel, Georges Enescu and Nadia Boulanger.

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Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy. Born to a music-loving family, Ravel attended the Paris Conservatoire. After leaving the conservatoire, he found his own way as a composer, developing a style of great clarity and incorporating elements of modernism, baroque, neoclassicism and, in his later works, jazz. Among his works to enter the repertoire are pieces for piano, chamber music, two piano concertos, ballet music, two operas and eight song cycles.

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Quatuor Ébène was established at the Boulogne-Billancourt Conservatory in 1999. After advanced studies with distinguished mentors including the Quatuor Ysaÿe and György Kurtág, the ensemble gained international recognition following its success at the 2004 ARD Music Competition. Known for combining classical excellence with jazz and pop influences, the quartet has developed a distinctive artistic identity reflected in crossover albums such as Fiction, Brazil and Eternal Stories. Their acclaimed recordings of composers including Beethoven, Fauré and Mozart have received major international awards.

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