Customer Reviews

Vaughan Williams: Phantasy Quintet/String Quartets 1 & 2

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If ever there was a piece of chamber music to send tingles down my spine, it is the opening Prelude of the Phantasy Quintet (1912). It has a yearning, ecstatic intensity which hints at something beyond ourselves. Then the delightful scherzo and lovely but short alla sarabanda. Finally the burlesca, starting with a cello theme like a group of heavy-footed Morris men not sure of their steps but becoming fleeter and more delicate. A Lark Ascending-type violin solo leads to a beautiful conclusion. The Magginis play this wonderful quintet quite beautifully.

When VW started his first string quartet (1908, rev 1921), he had completed a period of study with Ravel and it is easy to discern the French influence. Although all the elements of his mature style - folk song, the English Tudor composers and French impressionism - were within him, they still had a while to simmer and blend, so this work is not fully characteristic. The Maggini Quartet take the Minuet and Trio a bit slower than usual but it still sounds right. The lovely Romance is played very tenderly, giving more emphasis to the more impassioned passages. The finale is again taken on the slow-ish side but it comes off just the same. The extraordinary ending, with the violin sliding down from the stratosphere, brings the piece to an end.

Written during the Second World War, the second string quartet (1942-3) enters a very different world. Composed between the sublime 5th symphony and the bleak 6th, its emotional world is more akin to the latter. VW wrote it as a birthday present for his friend, Jean Stewart, who was a violist. This instrument has a very important part in all four movements and in the scherzo, it is the only one that is unmuted. The prelude and scherzo are both tense emotionally though the first is most troubled. The romance has a bitter-sweet lyricism with a wonderful episode in which the viola and violin melodies twine round each other. The epilogue is based on a lyrical though sad melody and brings this outstanding work to a serene end. The Maggini Quartet give a fine performance, managing to sound ferocious when needed but treat the tender passages with a loving touch.

This disc represents outstanding value with performances which stand comparison with anyone. The recording is good with lots of detail. The notes are accurate but a bit po-faced: the ecstatic prelude to the quintet is described thus, 'The first viola starts [it] with thematic material of pentatonic outline, to be answered by the first violin. The viola ends the movement...' Hardly imbued with passion!

'Gramophone''s "Chamber Music of the Year" award winner for 2001...and at such a bargain price!

Whether you're familiar with Vaughan Williams, or just curious, this is a delightful, safe buy. One of Naxos' best disks, ever. Highly recommended.

Gorgeous pieces with very direct appeal, and very finely performed. The spirit of English folk music -- ballads *and* dances -- pervades much of this disc. Ralph Vaughan Williams's characteristic blend of modal harmony and simple, straightforward melody (both of which owe something to folksong) is much in evidence here. In addition, the influence of VW's studies with Ravel can be felt in the two earlier works on this CD, the Phantasie and First Quartet.

As an homage to Renaissance English works for consorts of viols, this Phantasie never reaches self-consciously for archaic gestures. Its fairly short movements instead opt for alternating dreamy and dance-like moods, with just a bit of counterpoint thrown in occasionally. The extra viola affords a chance for richer textures and nice contrasts: just listen to the evocative opening measures, in which a plaintive solo viola is answered by ethereal sustained chords from the other players. Absolutely captivating.

The First Quartet, written about the same time, has a similar style but longer and more formally worked-out movements. So VW can approach more ardent romanticism in the slow movement -- there's time to build to a real climax or two. The Second Quartet, from the early 1940s, is more astringent and dramatic, probably reflecting the anxieties of the war years.

This is a terrific recording technically as well. It manages to achieve intimacy without the sense of microphones having been shoved in the performers' faces (or fingerboards). Vibrant, rich sounds. If you enjoyed this, try the EMI reissue of another Vaughan Williams work, "An Oxford Elegy," which offers a similar combination of controlled but deeply felt emotion within an English pastoral "landscape" (here imagined, there invoked more directly).

I agree with the other reviewers about this disc. The precision and sheen of the Magginis is perfectly realised in the 1st Quartet, redolent of Ravel and the English summer. It was the probing, penetrating and darkly hued performance of the 2nd quartet which grabbed my attention. The hallucinating presence of the stabbing viola cries in the quartet linger in the mind. Not only do the Magginis make this music glisten, but they dig deep into the 2nd quartet revealing the inspiration and the pain. This is one of those discs which make jolt you and help you get closer to composer's inner thoughts.

The Maggini Quartet has been making some excellent recordings of British chamber music for the Naxos label, and this new release continues their string of successes. Those who have been introduced to Vaughan Williams through his symphonies or works for strings (e.g., Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis) will recognize the composer's style in these chamber works, which are delightful. As a bonus, the sound quality is excellent, making this budget-priced CD a fantastic bargain for lovers of chamber music.

Ralph Vaughan Williams tends to be relatively unknown and unplayed outside of the UK these days, except for a few pieces, like his Greensleeves Fantasia, the Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, or the exquisitely lyrical The Lark Ascending. He's become known as an English pastoralist on the basis of these few works. A shame, really, because he has much more going for him: his Fourth Symphony is a seething, dissonant response to WWI, while his Eighth suggests Shostakovich in its wry humor. The three chamber works on this CD will not disappoint those who are hoping for RVW in his lyric, English landscape mode, especially the lovely Phantasy Quintet. But I suggest a closer listen to the Quartet in A minor, which dates from the middle of WWII. It's not a work filled with anger or dissonance, but rather with a deep sadness mixed with determination and strength. A fitting portrait of the British as they survived the war, and all round a beautifully constructed composition. The playing and sound is excellent.

Es realmente mágico apreciar y escuchar esta maravillosas composiciones de uno de los más profundos compositores ingleses como fue Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958).
Música encantadora y llena de lirísmo con profunda calma, transmitiendo un pensamiento musical casi "filosófico". Estas obras de cámara - como son el Phantashy Quintet y los String Quartet Nș 1 y 2 - nos asombran por su profundo conocimiento del color de las cuerdas que le permiten escribir obras tan profundas y hermosas.
Este maravilloso cuarteto de cuerdas como es el Maggini Quartet son excelentes interpretes de lujos. Llenos vitalidad, de un especial ensamble y compenetración interpretativa obtuvo en el año 2001 el Premio Gramophone''s "Chamber Music of the Year" y con mucha justicia pues su interpretación es simplemente magnífica.
Un cd altamente recomendable.

No need to duplicate the reviews of others, enough to emphasise the quality of VW's music, immaculate performance by the Magginis, enhanced by an impressive clarity of recording. Vaughan Williams folk music influences are present here in some of the jaunting rhythmns and melodies, as well as a French influence reminiscent of the magical sound-world of Delius at times. There are beautiful, serene, and ethereal moments here, especially via Jackson's shimmering viola in the Phantasy Quintet; there are also tougher, more sinewy sections, especially in the 2nd Quartet, reminiscent at times of Shostakovich, appropriately given its wartime gestation. Gramophone 'classic' recommendation, and Penguin Guide 'Rosette'. An essential purchase for all fans of VW, or English music in general.

A really wonderful release which definitely raises the question why Vaughan Williams's mature chamber works aren't better known. It is also another gem in the Naxos catalogue of chamber music with performances that could hardly be bettered (although works as strong as these certainly warrant more than a single interpretation). The first quartet was written in 1908 (revised in 1921), just after the composer's studies with Ravel and contemporaneous with the first symphony and the Tallis Fantasia. The presence of Ravel is certainly noticeable in the colors and subtle undercurrents, but the language is definitely Vaughan Williams's, with (among other things) his characteristic use of folksong and the rhythmic vitality, in particular in the final movement. It is a classically constructed work of incandescent textures, spirit and depth.

The second quartet was composed during World War II (at the time of the fifth symphony) and contains some wonderful music; memorable melodic material effectively and imaginatively development and culminating in a wonderfully tranquil epilogue. It is more enigmatic and searching than the first quartet, with a troubled yet serenely beautiful slow movement. It is also striking for its use of the viola as the lead voice for much of the time. The Phantasy Quintet from 1912 (for string quartet + an extra viola) is a gorgeously attractive work, if more modest in scope than the quartets. In four continuous movements, this delectable work opens with a fully characteristic Prelude, followed by a lively and quirky Scherzo, a wonderful, perchy alla Sarabande and a brilliant Burlesca.

Throughout the Magginis (including Garfield Jackson in the quintet) are thoroughly convincing with a deep understanding of the music, unfailingly colorful and spirited, a rich tone and rhythmic bite - and some truly stunning solo playing. The sound quality is superb as well. This, then, is a real must for anyone interested in chamber music - three major but neglected works in amazing performances and presentation; urgently recommended.