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For
their debut recording on Channel, the Avalon String Quartet have
chosen an interesting programme of Ravel and - well, not Debussy,
as one might think - but Janácek, which they have entitled
"Dawn to Dusk". This beguiling title does encapsulate a great degree
of the contrast between Ravel's solitary String Quartet, one of
his earliest substantial works, and Janácek's Second String
Quartet, the composer's last major composition and completed only
months before his death.
 The
Ravel String Quartet begins admirably, with the Avalon bringing
a fresh and elegant approach to the music. They get totally inside
the idiom of the musical interplay, uninhibited and passionate in
their own voice, although on closer listening, they might not just
yet match the technical incisiveness of the top-drawer quartets.
One suspects that, with time and exposure, they might just reach
that heady level of performance.
In
particular, the Assez vif, with Ravel (left) drawing a leaf
or two from his predecessor Debussy, features some delectable pizzicati
dialogue. The last movement is equally feisty in character - too
ferocious even for Ravel's agité, perhaps - and clearly
the Avalon are no shrinking violets when it comes to engaging the
music head-on.
But
it is in the slow movement that the beauty of their playing shines
through. They embrace the Très lent indication in
its full semantic context, fastidious in their tempi but unafraid
to linger and contemplate when the music calls for it. The result
is a conjuration of chirascuro moods and colours: the viola narrating
the theme, the cello interjecting with deep, sonorous thoughts,
and the tremolando of the high strings shimmering through: douceur
et tendresse.
 Janácek's
Initimate Letters, as the second quartet has been nicknamed,
was originally called Love Letters by the composer and was
very much a statement of his unrequited love: in 1917, Janácek
met and fell in love with a lady, Kamilla Stösslova, who (unfortunately
for the composer) was already married.
Nonetheless,
over the next eleven years, Janácek (right) wrote hundreds
of letters to her, most of which were unreplied. It was from this
wellspring of desire that Janácek drew upon as inspiration
for a prodiguous outpouring of works - the operas The Cunning
Little Vixen and Káta Kabanová, Sinfonietta,
Glagolitic Mass, Taras Bulba and Mládi
all date from this final decade.
Coming
right at the very end of this period was Intimate Letters,
in which Janácek embarked on a psychological journey of his
emotional psyche, putting down his feelings on musical record. The
result is not something voyeuristic as much as it is heart-on-sleeve.
The
Avalon embark on this journey with the same inclination as the Ravel:
with little inhibition and much initiative. Without taking the opening
Andante at a too-literal walking speed, their ensemble here
is splendid, including a wonderful rendition of the love melody
in mid-section.
This
is dispelled by the schizophrenic "flashbacks" of the second movement,
which finds the Avalon attacking with much finesse in outbursts
of strong, rhythmic melody. A certain pensiveness follows in the
next section, not unlike the meandering longeurs of Berlioz
- except that the Avalon wisely do not over-strain the emotive factor.
The
conclusion, which the composer marked "a longing fulfilled" (whether
this represents the completion of his biographical journey or a
fulfilment of his love-fantasy is not answered), comes as a cathartic
conclusion to an emotional, wrenching journey.
The
sound quality on this recording, performed in the Hervormde Kerk
in The Netherlands, is spacious, but not overwhelmingly so. Veteran
producer-editor Jared Sacks works his usual magic in capturing an
ideal balance for the quartet. Curiously, the members play on a
variety of instruments, ranging chronologically from an antique
1881 viola to a modern 1995 Greg Aif violin.
The
Avalon String Quartet, on the basis of this album, are certainly
a group to watch out for. They delve into this music with great
sensitivy and intensity when it calls for it. I do have to point
out, though, that this selection of programme means that the album
is less competitive than the rest of the field: collectors looking
to build up repertoire will have better alternatives, unless they
are specifically looking for this coupling. However, the Avalon
do have something to say about Ravel and Janácek, and one
could do well to have a listen.
BENJAMIN
CHEE usually consumes his quartet music with a can of beer (A&W
Root).
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845:
5.3.2001© Benjamin Chee
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