Ernest Chausson; Vincent d'Indy - String Quartets (Chilingirian Quartet)

Information

Composer: Ernest Chausson; Vincent d'Indy

• Chausson - String Quartet in C minor, Op. 35
• Indy - String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 35

Chilingirian Quartet

    Levon Chilingirian, violin

    Charles Sewart, violin

    Asdis Valdimarsdottir, viola

    Philip de Groote, cello

Date: 2000

Label: Hyperion

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Review

The immediate link between the two works on this CD is that D'Indy completed Chausson's Quartet. The quartets share much more, however, and make an ideal coupling: both have an easy Gallic lyricism and exhibit admirable compositional fluency. Indeed, this is so perfectly realised in the performance of the Chausson one could be forgiven for expecting this disc to be one in a thousand. The Chilingirians are completely at one with Chausson's lyrical, sweet-toned melancholy and react to one another beautifully in contrapuntal passages. They bring out the drama of the first movement and the plush lyricism of the second, marked 'très calme' , is the epitome of good taste. The cautionary epithet 'pas trop vite' to the 'gaiment' indication of the last movement is heeded so that nothing is rushed and the fragmentary ending makes its full effect.

The d'Indy, then, has much to live up to. A pity, then, that the recording quality is flawed. The Chausson was recorded by two members of Mediatrack, Holland, the d'Indy by the more familiar Hyperion team of Antony Howell and Mark Brown. Also, the venue moves from the Gallerie des Franciscains in Saint Nazaire, France, to the Henry Wood Hall in London. The recording focus is closer and has less body than the Chausson and there is a tendency towards shrillness lacking earlier in the disc. So whilst the textural ingenuity of the first movement, the sunny, smiley opening to the second, the playfulness of the third and the jolly fourth all impress, the final impression of the disc remains tarnished.

— Colin Clarke

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Ernest Chausson (20 January 1855 – 10 June 1899) was a prominent late-19th-century French composer. After completing a law degree, he studied composition at the Paris Conservatory under Jules Massenet and César Franck. Influenced by the operas of Richard Wagner, Chausson developed a richly chromatic yet characteristically French musical style. He also supported younger composers such as Claude Debussy while serving the Société Nationale de Musique. His notable works include Poème, Symphony in B-flat Major, and the opera Le Roi Arthus, which incorporated Wagnerian leitmotifs and his own libretto.

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The Chilingirian Quartet was founded in 1971 by Levon Chilingirian and Philip De Groote. Renowned for its interpretations of classical and contemporary repertoire, the ensemble has received the Royal Philharmonic Society Chamber Ensemble Award. The quartet serves as Quartet-in-Residence at the Royal College of Music and has appeared at major international festivals and venues, including Wigmore Hall and the Concertgebouw. The group maintains a close association with the music of Michael Tippett. Their extensive recordings feature works by Bartók, Dvořák, Mozart and Chausson, among others.

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