Naresh Sohal (1939-2018)
Chiaroscuro II (String Quartet No. 1) (1976)
String Quartet No. 3 (2008)
String Quartet No. 4 (2009)
String Quartet No. 5 (2010)
Piatti String Quartet
rec. 2024 St Silas Church, Kentish Town, London, UK
Reviewed as a digital download
Toccata Classics TOCC0754 [75]

In a programme note written to accompany the premiere of his String Quartet No. 3, at a concert to celebrate his seventieth birthday, Naresh Sohal wrote, ‘Of late, I have felt that the format of the string quartet will survive the onslaught of music generated on the computer better than most other instrumental combinations thrown up by twentieth century music writing. I have therefore decided to write six string quartets.’ What an intriguing statement of intent. At this stage of his career he was an established and highly respected composer in all genres with a number of high profile orchestral compositions in particular behind him. I would love to know the specific reasons that drew him to that conclusion, something obviously to do with the inherent integrity of the string quartet form, but what was his thinking exactly?

What will not be in question for anyone who listens to this CD is the value of Sohal’s contributions to the genre. I described his words above as a statement of intent but in fact by the time of that concert, in July 2010, Sohal had written his Fourth Quartet. I’m unclear whether the final one, his Fifth, was also completed by then but it’s dated that same year. The sixth quartet he prefigured above was never written, the booklet notes suggesting Sohal was drawn to other musical interests before he could start it.

Before talking about the Quartets, it’s perhaps important to stress two key things if you don’t know any of Sohal’s music. First, although Sohal was of Indian origin he chose to write within the idiom of Western classical music. He drew on Indian poetry and aspects of philosophy, but the style and largely the form of his compositions is rooted in the Western tradition. His music is not ‘fusion’ music. Second, he was extraordinarily versatile. His compositions have a dizzying array of instrumentation and forms, ranging from a Concerto for Harmonica to a large scale setting for orchestra, baritone and chorus of Anglo-Saxon poetry, to a brass quintet, to pieces for solo instruments. It’s this range that makes Sohal’s declaration above particularly interesting.

As far as the composition of the quartets is concerned, his first was written in 1976. Quartets Nos. 2-5 were then written after a thirty year gap between 2005-2010. This disc contains Nos. 1,3,4 and 5. A complete set would have necessitated a second disc, but in any event what we do have is food for thought aplenty.

The Quartet No. 1, entitled Chiaroscuro II, has an experimental feel about it, but it’s a wholly accomplished work, from its opening seemingly random, certainly addictive, ‘tick tock’ figures, its sustained rhythmic diversification and, in keeping with the work’s title, a dazzling range of tonal colour.

By the time Sohal came to write his later quartets he was obviously a much more experienced composer and I don’t think its fanciful to say that his maturity is apparent. The Quartet No 3, a single movement work, retains Sohal’s fascination with microtonal textures for example, but the way he uses those sounds as a base for the introduction of melody and then counterpoint is masterful and gripping. This is exciting and stimulating writing even if the overall mood of the work is decidedly contemplative.

The Quartet No. 4, the longest of the works on the disc, is in three movements. The booklet notes talk of its ‘Shostakovich-like sense of grit and irony’ and I wouldn’t disagree with that, but actually it was Bartók’s writing for string quartet the powerful opening movement evoked most strongly for me. The second movement Moderato also feels like a skilful modern updating of Bartókian night music. The finale has a welcome exuberance, an almost rumbustious quality marked by some outrageous portamenti in the writing for cello particularly.

Sohal’s final Quartet, No. 5, has a different sound world. Its framework is the octatonic scale, and that and also its complex rhythmic patterns, makes us feels as if we are in Messiaen territory. But as in all the works on the disc, whatever the influences, what Sohal produces here is wholly original: the outer movements, energetic and vibrant, the inner Adagio with its contrasting pairs of duets for the upper and lower instruments original, beautiful, but also provocative. The final movement’s fugal writing is brilliant and somehow definitive. If one of the reasons Sohal didn’t go on to write a sixth quartet was because he felt he had said all he had to say about the genre, one could understand that after listening to this mesmerising conclusion.

The Piatti Quartet, who I most recently heard playing Vaughan Williams and E.J. Moeran to the manor born (Rubicon RCD1098), step effortlessly into this very different music. I can think of no higher compliment than to say that their profound musicianship and selfless playing allow these elemental, radiant and intense works to speak directly to the listener in the most rewarding way possible. They deserve our heartfelt gratitude for their advocacy and the all-round excellence of their playing.

Now here is a shocking fact. The first time the Quartets Nos. 4 and 5 were performed was for this recording, which is released fifteen years after their composition. I simply don’t understand this. Both works are clearly significant additions to the quartet canon by an original and gifted talent. One quite often writes regretfully about a composer one feels should be better known, but this feels the most striking example I have come across recently.

All credit to Toccata Classics then for putting out this album, following up their disc of Sohal’s complete piano music (TOCC0689) released in 2023. I should add that the recorded sound on the new album is really good: warm and clear with resonance perfectly judged. The booklet notes by Suddhaseel Sen, Janet Swinney and Utsyo Chakraborty are exemplary.

Dominic Hartley

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