Orchestral power

The Merel Quartet has already successfully explored the music of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (and his sister Fanny) for an album (Genuin 11204: Felix: String Quartet in F minor op. 80; Four Pieces for String Quartet op. 81; Fanny: String Quartet in E flat major). The Swiss ensemble has now been joined by the young English Castalian String Quartet to record the Octet op. 20.

In the first string quartet in E flat major op. 12, however, the Merel Quartet is still among itself. The four perform the fast middle section of the Canzonetta as an elf dance, the Andante espressivo has great breath. And in the finale, Mary Ellen Woodside (violin 1), Edouard Mätzener (violin 2), Alessandro D'Amico (viola) and Rafael Rosenfeld (violoncello) combine lightness with a dramatic effect that creates a real pull. Only in the opening movement does the quartet take too many liberties in terms of agogic, so that the pulse is lost a little in the numerous small delays when quaver figures are played out too much or caesuras introduce new sections.

Together with Sini Simonen (violin 1), Daniel Roberts (violin 2), Charlotte Bonneton (viola) and Christopher Graves (cello), the octet creates a tonally balanced, narrative interpretation that ranges from fragile intimacy to orchestral power. The composer wanted the octet to play "in the style of a symphonic orchestra". The fusion of the two ensembles into a single, flexible body of sound is impressively successful. The way the tension in the development section of the first movement reverberates and the recapitulation is heralded in the rush of semiquavers chasing through the voices - that's great! A highly emotional Andante and an airy Scherzo are followed by a somewhat rumbling cello introduction and an extremely fast Presto finale that celebrates virtuosity and leaves a strong impression despite minor rhythmic inaccuracies.