Naxos
American Classics - Ives: String Quartets / Blair Quartet
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Details
- Composer
- IVES
- Artist
- THE BLAIR QUARTET
- Format
- CD
- Discs
- 1
- Label
- Naxos
- Released
- Oct 31, 2006
- Catalog #
- 8559178
- UPC
- 636943917824
About
It's always good to have new recordings of Ives' two quartets (here including a bonus of the zany Scherzo for String Quartet). They are wonderful works, the first tuneful and charming, the second one of Ives' finest mature pieces. In the Second quartet the Blair Quartet charts a middle course between the Emerson's sleek and swift version on DG and the much slower, heavier Leipzig Quartet reading on MDG. Their less-polished ensemble sonority, grainier than the competition but never in an unpleasant or inartistic way, suits the music well, whether in the plain-spun hymn tunes of the First quartet or the raucous eruptions of the Second.
Only in the latter work's transcendental closing bars might I have wished for a smoother, richer timbre, but there's no questioning the sensible pacing or the players' mastery of the idiom. The sonics are also flatteringly clear and coherent, allowing plenty of contrapuntal detail to register without picking up extraneous performance noises or the ensemble's own breathing--almost always a problem, it seems, with quartet productions. God only knows if the Emerson version is still available, and for all the enticing additional couplings (a bevy of short pieces), the Leipzigers' Wagnerian take on the Second Quartet may not be to all tastes (and the disc is extremely expensive). That makes this release a very welcome addition to the Ives discography.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
Only in the latter work's transcendental closing bars might I have wished for a smoother, richer timbre, but there's no questioning the sensible pacing or the players' mastery of the idiom. The sonics are also flatteringly clear and coherent, allowing plenty of contrapuntal detail to register without picking up extraneous performance noises or the ensemble's own breathing--almost always a problem, it seems, with quartet productions. God only knows if the Emerson version is still available, and for all the enticing additional couplings (a bevy of short pieces), the Leipzigers' Wagnerian take on the Second Quartet may not be to all tastes (and the disc is extremely expensive). That makes this release a very welcome addition to the Ives discography.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
Tracklist 8 tracks
-
1 I. Chorale: Andante con moto 05:02
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Chorale: Andante con moto
- Duration
- 05:02
- Composer
- Charles Ives
- Ensemble
- Blair Quartet
-
2 II. Prelude: Allegro 05:54
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Prelude: Allegro
- Duration
- 05:54
- Composer
- Charles Ives
- Ensemble
- Blair Quartet
-
3 III. Offertory: Adagio cantabile 05:35
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Offertory: Adagio cantabile
- Duration
- 05:35
- Composer
- Charles Ives
- Ensemble
- Blair Quartet
-
4 IV. Postlude: Allegro marziale 05:16
- Track
- 4
- Title
- IV. Postlude: Allegro marziale
- Duration
- 05:16
- Composer
- Charles Ives
- Ensemble
- Blair Quartet
-
5 Scherzo 01:42
- Track
- 5
- Title
- Scherzo
- Duration
- 01:42
- Composer
- Charles Ives
- Ensemble
- Blair Quartet
-
6 I. Discussions: Andante moderato - Andante con spirito - Adagio molto 10:08
- Track
- 6
- Title
- I. Discussions: Andante moderato - Andante con spirito - Adagio molto
- Duration
- 10:08
- Composer
- Charles Ives
- Ensemble
- Blair Quartet
-
7 II. Arguments: Allegro con spirito 04:53
- Track
- 7
- Title
- II. Arguments: Allegro con spirito
- Duration
- 04:53
- Composer
- Charles Ives
- Ensemble
- Blair Quartet
-
8 III. The Call of the Mountains: Adagio – Andante – Adagio 11:49
- Track
- 8
- Title
- III. The Call of the Mountains: Adagio – Andante – Adagio
- Duration
- 11:49
- Composer
- Charles Ives
- Ensemble
- Blair Quartet