Ravel - String Quartet [Carmina String Quartet]
It's great to revisit this disc again, the last time i played it was in 2013, i delved into the Carmina Quartet when they won an award for their Szymanowski String Quartets, and that disc is superb, so it's good to find this is up to standard also, it's got a lovely front booklet cover, i well shot photo, with a blue theme, this disc appeared in my Blog early in its incarnation [27th January 2010].
The Carmina String Quartet are still going strong, now clocking up their 30 year anniversary, they are from Switzerland, they recorded this disc in 1992 on the Denon label.
So the best thing about this performance was the second movement assez vif, tres rythme = fairly lively, very rhythmic, and it's certainly the rhythmic bit which is very fitting, lots of pizzicato involved, love the way Ravel starts this movement, with a pizzicato quartet [0:00-0:15], very satisfying indeed, but even when the bowing comes in, there's always some instrument still playing pizzicato, and Ravel uses the power of each instrument to give different string effects, a treble twang from the violins, and a deep bass from the cello, there's a serene middle section of mainly bowing [1:51-4:48], and even within this middle section there's a couple of more sour and searching little episodes [3:28-3:45 & 4:08-4:26], i just love the lead back to the opening [4:46-5:10], it's such a tease!, and even within this passage, there's a great little rhythmic run by i believe the viola [4:56+], and the movement ends on a staggered last loud pizzicato!
Here's the Hagen String Quartet playing the second movement on YouTube.
The Carmina String Quartet are still going strong, now clocking up their 30 year anniversary, they are from Switzerland, they recorded this disc in 1992 on the Denon label.
So the best thing about this performance was the second movement assez vif, tres rythme = fairly lively, very rhythmic, and it's certainly the rhythmic bit which is very fitting, lots of pizzicato involved, love the way Ravel starts this movement, with a pizzicato quartet [0:00-0:15], very satisfying indeed, but even when the bowing comes in, there's always some instrument still playing pizzicato, and Ravel uses the power of each instrument to give different string effects, a treble twang from the violins, and a deep bass from the cello, there's a serene middle section of mainly bowing [1:51-4:48], and even within this middle section there's a couple of more sour and searching little episodes [3:28-3:45 & 4:08-4:26], i just love the lead back to the opening [4:46-5:10], it's such a tease!, and even within this passage, there's a great little rhythmic run by i believe the viola [4:56+], and the movement ends on a staggered last loud pizzicato!
Here's the Hagen String Quartet playing the second movement on YouTube.
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