Search - Dvorak, Lindsay String Quartet, Patrick Ireland :: Dvorak: String Quintet Op 97 "The American"; Bagatelles; Terzetto

SWANSONG

DAVID BRYSON | Glossop Derbyshire England | 01/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Lindsay quartet have recently announced their impending retirement. It does not seem long at all since I was attending their concerts with interest and enthusiasm when they were one of the leading new ensembles, I am familiar with several of their records, so it was a slight shock to discover that my own collection included nothing by them. This disc makes a good start to rectifying that lack. None of the three works played here is staple fare for concert-goers or radio listeners, all are the kind of Dvorak that I prefer, the performance and recording are excellent throughout and I have no other records of this music.



The main work here is the third and final string quintet, with Patrick Ireland, formerly of the great Allegri quartet and father of the Lindsays' own Robin Ireland, taking the second viola part. Its opus-number is one higher than that of the slightly over-familiar `American' quartet, which obviously dates it among Dvorak's American compositions too, and in my opinion it is one of the best of them. The trick with Dvorak is to get him to combine his best workmanship and his finest inspiration in the same piece - he tends to treat them as alternatives. One danger-point is prolixity and long-windedness in the slow movement, but this time it is a set of variations. The form imposes its own discipline on the composer, and the performers rightly understand `larghetto' to be more like andante than adagio. The finale is possibly a little lightweight, but it is effervescent and thoroughly enjoyable, particularly when played with the gusto and rhythmic grip shown here.



I particularly like the other two works for taking us back to the true roots of chamber music - music for informal gatherings. The 5 Bagatelles for the intriguing combination of 2 violins, cello and harmonium are the earlier, and Robin Ireland takes the harmonium part just as Dvorak, a viola player himself, seems to have done. I am still getting used to the odd sound, but enjoying the process, and whatever Dvorak may have lacked it wasn't easy charm, or melodic gift, or an acute ear for instrumental tone. The last work is a 4-movement Terzetto, for the three upper instruments of the standard string quartet. This restricts the bass to a lowest note of (if I recall rightly) C in the bass clef. The composer has far too much good sense to be guilty of lengthiness in a case such as this, and he and the Lindsays between them combine to provide an interesting and unusual 20 minutes of civilised and beautiful sound.



It all comes to well over an hour's worth of music, and if it sounds less that is for the very best of reasons."