Balanescu Quartet MICHAEL NYMAN String Quartets 1-3
Dedicated to the memory of musicologist Thurston Dart (or “Thruston Brat” as one of my university lecturers fondly referred to him), Nyman’s First Quartet takes as its basis a piece by the English composer John Bull (a set of variations on the tune Wallsingham). Yet it is also influenced by the tendency of some quartet music to struggle against the boundaries of its instrumentation (specifically, the point of inspiration was a performance of Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge by the Arditti Quartet). Other quotations, including from Schoenberg’s Second Quartet, litter the score in an attempt to make the piece a summation of the string quartet medium this far, all within a minimalist aesthetic. So, huge ambitions for a work that lasts shy of 26 minutes. The movements all have titles, along the lines of “John Bull I,” “Arnold Schoenberg 2,” “Michael Nyman I,” and even “John Bull meets Arnold Schoenberg.” All this is fascinating, and what comes across is a delight in the musical cryptography from the composer, and a reciprocal excitement from the Balanescu Quartet.
The First Quartet is heard third; the Second is heard first. The Second is based on a dance piece, Miniatures. The performer of that dance piece, Shobana Jeyasingh, put down the rhythmic elements. It begins in an expansive, lyric mode. As with much of Nyman, he will present his musical ideas early on, if not immediately, in a movement, and then stick to his trajectory. The music is heartfelt, although the innocent ear might be hard pressed to find Indian influences.
The Third Quartet (1990) centers on beauty. The easeful accents that open it present the musical ideas for what is to come. The control of the performers in the slower second movement is beyond reproach, and they bring about the gradual crescendos with consummate ease. Based on music for a BBC documentary called Out of the Rains, it too owes something to Dart, as it was Dart who had sent Nyman to Romania on a music-finding expedition. Material from that trip is heard layered onto music form the documentary: the composite result is never less than fascinating, aurally.
These quartet recordings were recorded in 1991 and first released on the Argo label. Both discs under review here are impressive in the extreme and fully worthy of investigation. (FANFARE: Colin Clark)
The First Quartet is heard third; the Second is heard first. The Second is based on a dance piece, Miniatures. The performer of that dance piece, Shobana Jeyasingh, put down the rhythmic elements. It begins in an expansive, lyric mode. As with much of Nyman, he will present his musical ideas early on, if not immediately, in a movement, and then stick to his trajectory. The music is heartfelt, although the innocent ear might be hard pressed to find Indian influences.
The Third Quartet (1990) centers on beauty. The easeful accents that open it present the musical ideas for what is to come. The control of the performers in the slower second movement is beyond reproach, and they bring about the gradual crescendos with consummate ease. Based on music for a BBC documentary called Out of the Rains, it too owes something to Dart, as it was Dart who had sent Nyman to Romania on a music-finding expedition. Material from that trip is heard layered onto music form the documentary: the composite result is never less than fascinating, aurally.
These quartet recordings were recorded in 1991 and first released on the Argo label. Both discs under review here are impressive in the extreme and fully worthy of investigation. (FANFARE: Colin Clark)
0 Response to "Balanescu Quartet MICHAEL NYMAN String Quartets 1-3"
Post a Comment