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Haydn, Jadin, Onslow Haydn - String Quartet, Op.76 No.2 'Les Quintes' This French quartet attracted attention for its UK debut with unusual programming, which brought a gratifyingly large audience to Blackheath Halls (c.p. the Florestan Trio, which normally sells out Wigmore Hall, but had a third of the seats empty the same evening because they programmed Saint-Saens amd Judith Weir instead of Beethoven & Schubert!). George Onslow (1784-1853) is this Prima Vista's speciality; they decided not to type-cast themselves restrictively by using this interesting French/English composer's name eponymously - the downside is that if you look them up on Google, you get a Polish group! For relevant background to the Blackheath recital, click here instead. Onslow was born in Clermont-Ferrand, where Prima Vista is based, because of a 'family scandal' which forced him to leave England. He was represented in Blackheath by one of his 35 quartets (there are 34 quintets too) which left an equivocal response. It might have been better to have had two of them to help us form a view. * During the first half I felt that the players were not doing themselves full justice and was continually hearing in my head how the music might have gone. The ensemble was close and technical proficiency undoubted. But tempi seemed too fast and the playing rigid and metronome-bound. The leader skated over florid passages and the music sounded as if in a strait-jacket, not allowed to breathe. Haydn's great Op 76 quartet did not come across as the great masterpiece it is. They seemed more relaxed following the interval, as is not uncommon with singers too. After a forgettable Viotti novelty, they impressed in a quartet by another composer who died young, Hyacinth Jadin (1769-1800), which has an expressive duet between first violin and cello (the second violin and viola had little opportunity to shine in this programme). Only in Prima Vista's encore did we find that they had a welcome sense of humour too; a spoof cut-&-paste job on the same Haydn quartet, purporting to show that the composer had been born in Brazilia.......... From their own website, you will discover that Prima Vista (Clermont-Ferrand) is a versatile and enterprising group of young musicians. One of their ciné-concerts would go down very well in Blackheath's Recital Room?
Prima Vista has a pleasant CD of Reicha, Onslow's arrangements for quartet from an opera, and the same Jadin quartet as we heard: Avergne Musiques Danses AMD 0402. Links for George Onslow: http://www.george.onslow.free.fr/concertsUK.html
*- - The first quartet, Op.4 No.1 in B Flat Major begins with an Allegro con brio in 6/8 time. From the very start we hear a new voice. The melodic language is certainly not that of Haydn or Mozart. It opens in a bravura fashion, full of drama, in many ways anticipating the spirit one finds in middle Schubert. At once one notices the part writing. The four voices are treated almost as equals. - - The second movement, Andante sostenuto is in 2/4. It sounds like an English or Scottish folktune and is treated in a fashion which was to become a favorite of Onslow's; almost, but not quite, like a set of variations. One is reminded of the way Haydn handled his thematic material in the slow movement of the First Lobkowitz Quartet, Op.77 No.1. - - A superb Minuetto Allegro follows, no longer the classical minuet but more in the order of scherzo. The part writing leaves nothing to be desired. A contrasting trio in minor, rather than releasing the tension of the minuet, instead is full of fire. It is often said that the Op.18 Quartets of Beethoven were light years ahead of nearly anything being written for the next 20 years. This movement stands out as an exception to that statement. The Finale, Allegro is the kind of moto perpetuo of which Onslow showed himself to be a master. In 4/4, it is a rhythmically interesting movement with a dramatic and military flavor. One is reminded a bit of early Beethoven, but there is a heightened sense of the dramatic and a greater richness of melody. - - H H H Silvertrust
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