The three quartets
of Mendelssohn's Opus 44 date from 1837-38,
and they all honour the classical tradition
of four movements. However, in each
case Mendelssohn opts for the less conventional
placing of the slow movement third.
The Quartet No. 3 featured in Volume
2 of the Henschel Quartet’s series,
but the other two are both included
here.
While it was published
as the second in the set, the E minor
Quartet was in fact the first to be
written. The best of Mendelssohn is
to be found in the chamber music, and
Opus 44 No. 2 certainly supports this
generalisation. For example, it contains
one of the composer's most effective
openings, recalling that of the celebrated
Violin Concerto, yet to be composed.
There are two important themes, both
of them distinctive and pleasing, and
in classical fashion there is the option
of an exposition repeat. Rhythmic vitality,
always one of Mendelssohn's strengths,
is found in abundance, and the return
of the main material at the close of
the development is achieved with consummate
skill and pacing.
These strengths can
found again and again in the Henschel
Quartet’s programme, presented as they
are in sensitive performances, sympathetically
recorded. If anything the D major Quartet,
Opus 44 No. 1, has more of those characteristic
quicksilver rhythms than the other music
collected here. Be that as it may, this
is a lively and entertaining performance,
and the sharpness of the playing (in
the best sense of the term) is matched
by the precision of the ensemble and
of the recorded sound too.
The remaining item
the posthumous collection of four pieces
collected as Opus 81, is not intended
as a unified composition. A few black
marks here for Arte Nova’s booklet and
its confusing links with the music on
the disc. Neither is presented in the
order of the pieces, 1-4, but at the
same time there is no consistency. The
notes discuss them in the order 4, 3,
1, 2, whereas the disc plays them in
the order 1, 2, 4, 3. Mendelssohn’s
Opus numbers are a can of worms as it
is, without a modern recording adding
to the confusion.
Whether these four
pieces actually work as a unit is open
to debate. Certainly Mendelssohn composed
them over a twenty-year period, the
Fugue of 1827 coming very much first.
Because they are the work of a master
they will always sound convincing, but
whether they should be performed and
recorded so as to seem a unified four-movement
piece is another matter altogether.
The performance is as pleasing as the
Henschel Quartet have provided elsewhere
in the series, but I am not altogether
sure that his cause is best served by
the issues this presentation raises.
Terry Barfoot
see also review
by Michael Cookson
Henschel String Quartet 
