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Still, Dvorak, Barber, Gershwin / Serafin String Quartet
Centaur Records

Still, Dvorak, Barber, Gershwin / Serafin String Quartet

$18.99 Only 2 left

Details

Composer
BARBER DVORAK GERSHWIN STIL
Artist
SERAFIN STRING QUARTET
Format
CD
Label
Centaur Records
Released
Sep 01, 2010
Catalog #
CRC3050
UPC
044747305028

About



QUARTET AMERICAN STYLE: POSTCARDS FROM THE AMERICAN MUSICAL PAST • Serafin Str Qrt • CENTAUR 3050 (65:52)

STILL Danzas de Panama. DVO?ÁK String Quartet No. 12 in F, op. 96, “American”.BARBER String Quartet in b, op. 11. GERSHWIN Lullaby

In the informative notes that accompany this disc, writer Renée Silberman asks: “What is ‘American music’—a school of American composition? Musical institutions? High art or folk art? Traditions of the Native Americans, of Blacks, of immigrants and visitors?” As Silberman suggests, it is all but impossible to explain what makes music “American.” Like the striking diversity that makes up our people’s DNA, American music is not readily susceptible to description or categorization, let alone definition. It is remarkable, therefore, that all-American music programs bode so well in the concert hall or on record, as evidenced by the album for consideration here, which I believe marks the debut of the Serafin Quartet, a string ensemble based in Wilmington, Delaware.

The album begins and ends on a lighter note, with William Grant Still’s Danzas de Panama and George Gershwin’s well-known Lullaby. In the former work, a delightful suite inspired by Still’s perennial fascination with the music of African slaves and Caribbean people, the Serafins provide idiomatic and rhythmically engaging performances. In the Gershwin work, the ensemble’s relatively quick pace prevents the premature onset of slumber and makes the music sound less repetitive­—and in truth more interesting—than it is. In Dvo?ák’s “American” Quartet, the Serafins play with impressive accuracy and drive, and the silvery tone of the violin of the ensemble’s leader—a Sanctus Serafin—is particularly delightful. If, at the end of the day, I still gravitate towards the Panocha Quartet’s more nuanced interpretation, the Serafin’s comparatively clear-eyed approach is undeniably valid. I have no reservations whatsoever about the ensemble’s performance of the Barber String Quartet. The Serafins are less driven than the Emerson Quartet, and their more flexible tempo allows the Brahmsian pathos of this work to shine through. Violinist Timothy Schwartz’s and cellist Lawrence Stomberg’s contributions in the Molto Adagio—most often heard in the arrangement known as the Adagio for Strings—deserve special note. (In the interest of full disclosure, I note that since this recording was made in 2009, Schwartz has left the ensemble.)

The engineering is excellent. In sum, this is a memorable disc that is guaranteed to provide much enjoyment to chamber music enthusiasts.

FANFARE: Radu A. Lelutiu

Tracklist 12 tracks

  1. 1 No. 1. Tamborito 03:47
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 1. Tamborito
    Duration
    03:47
    Composer
    William Grant Still
    Ensemble
    Serafin String Quartet
  2. 2 No. 2. Mejorana y Socavon 02:25
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 2. Mejorana y Socavon
    Duration
    02:25
    Composer
    William Grant Still
    Ensemble
    Serafin String Quartet
  3. 3 No. 3. Punto: Allegretto con grazia 04:36
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 3. Punto: Allegretto con grazia
    Duration
    04:36
    Composer
    William Grant Still
    Ensemble
    Serafin String Quartet
  4. 4 No. 4. Cumbia y Congo 03:23
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 4. Cumbia y Congo
    Duration
    03:23
    Composer
    William Grant Still
    Ensemble
    Serafin String Quartet
  5. 5 I. Allegro ma non troppo 09:21
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Allegro ma non troppo
    Duration
    09:21
    Composer
    Antonín Dvořák
    Ensemble
    Serafin String Quartet
  6. 6 II. Lento 07:03
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Lento
    Duration
    07:03
    Composer
    Antonín Dvořák
    Ensemble
    Serafin String Quartet
  7. 7 III. Molto vivace 04:06
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Molto vivace
    Duration
    04:06
    Composer
    Antonín Dvořák
    Ensemble
    Serafin String Quartet
  8. 8 IV. Vivace ma non troppo 05:28
    Track
    8
    Title
    IV. Vivace ma non troppo
    Duration
    05:28
    Composer
    Antonín Dvořák
    Ensemble
    Serafin String Quartet
  9. 9 I. Molto allegro e appassionato 08:08
    Track
    9
    Title
    I. Molto allegro e appassionato
    Duration
    08:08
    Composer
    Samuel Barber
    Ensemble
    Serafin String Quartet
  10. 10 II. Molto adagio 07:32
    Track
    10
    Title
    II. Molto adagio
    Duration
    07:32
    Composer
    Samuel Barber
    Ensemble
    Serafin String Quartet
  11. 11 III. Molto allegro 02:36
    Track
    11
    Title
    III. Molto allegro
    Duration
    02:36
    Composer
    Samuel Barber
    Ensemble
    Serafin String Quartet
  12. 12 Lullaby (version for string quartet) 07:22
    Track
    12
    Title
    Lullaby (version for string quartet)
    Duration
    07:22
    Composer
    George Gershwin
    Ensemble
    Serafin String Quartet