COMPOSERS: Dvorak
LABELS: ASV Gold
ALBUM TITLE: Dvorak
WORKS: String Sextet in A; String Quintet in G
PERFORMER: Nash Ensemble
CATALOGUE NO: GLD 4011
The overwhelming popularity of
Dvo‡k’s later chamber music,
notably the Second Piano Quintet
and the American Quartet, has
damagingly overshadowed the
virtues of his earlier works. One
of the soundest barometers of
Dvo‡k’s style, chamber music
dates from every period of his
creative life apart from his last,
operatically inclined, years. The
G major Quintet, with double
bass, was composed in 1875, the
year in which Dvo‡k can be
said to have found his musical
voice. It has all the engaging
qualities of more mature works:
captivating melody, inspired use
of instruments and an irrepressible
energy which in the scherzo looks
forward to his ‘American’ period.
The richly lyrical sextet,
composed in the wake of the first
set of Slavonic Dances, is more
reflective and shows the influence
of Brahms. The Nash Ensemble is
particularly adept in externalising
its rich vein of sentiment notably in
the extraordinarily beautiful first
movement. The evident affection,
strong sense of ensemble and the
lower strings full-throated tone
in this impressive performance
puts it for me at the top of the
not very extensive list of available
recordings. Their reading of the
Quintet, with its excised extra slow
movement as an appendix, has
similar qualities if not quite the
same level of ensemble playing and
while certainly enjoyable, and also
excellently recorded, must cede the
palm to the Chilingirian Quartet.
Jan Smaczny