Le Temps suspendu
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
String Quintet in C major, D956
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132
Katok Ensemble
rec. live, 3 & 4 October 2024, église St Pierre d’Antraigues-Asperjoc, Ardèche, France
B Records LBM076 [101]
Recorded live during the Katok Festival in the Ardèche, this issue brings together two seminal works of the early Romantic era. Pairing these two composers makes sense; the Sacconi Quartet did it quite recently in their highly successful recording of the two No. 14 string quartets (review); the combination here is slightly less obvious, but as first violin Paul Serri remarks in the notes, “Schubert was a lifelong admirer of Beethoven” and in particular the slow movements of both works were composed when both had been made very aware of their own mortality, Schubert knowing he was chronically ill and Beethoven having recovered from a serious illness, hence the movement’s superscription, “Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit” (Holy song of thanksgiving of a convalescent to the Deity). Both are oddly unsettling yet sublimely beautiful works. There is of course, no shortage of superb recordings of both; I have long prized recordings of the Quintet by the Ensemble Villa Musica on Naxos and the Alban Berg Quartet with Heinrich Schiff on EMI and have similarly settled on the recordings by the ABQ and the Medici as the best collections of Beethoven’s late quartets – but this new pairing will appeal to anyone who wants just these two specific works in a neat cardboard package. There is, however, also an excellent pairing of Beethoven’s string quartets nos.13 and 15 (with the Grosse Fuge) (review) played by the Tetzlaff Quartet.
Concerns that I might have had about the recording being live, in a church, were quickly dispelled within a few moments of first listening: balances are very good, there is a just a little space around the instruments as if one had a good seat at the concert and I hear absolutely no extraneous noises. As is usual today, the performers are a little more sparing with vibrato on sustained notes but that lends an appropriately yearning, even keening quality to Schubert’s long lines. The warmth and reverberance of the two cellos are especially striking. This is quite a leisurely performance; the players linger over those achingly prolonged suspended harmonies and caress phrases lovingly and I enjoy their manner very much, especially as the lead violin’s intonation is so good – slower speed and minimal vibrato would soon betray any failing in that regard. Sometimes their deceleration is quite daring, such as in the slow passage beginning sixteen minutes into the first movement, towards the end, where they play on a thread of sound to most haunting effect; I have not heard this played like that before and commend their invention. My next concern was that given their predilection for slow, atmospheric delivery, moments of high tension would be underplayed – but that is not at all the case here. The ABQ do not take the repeats in the first movement, so comparison with them there is not so germane, but the Katok are noticeably slower than both of them in the remaining three movements and slower than the EVM overall by more than a couple of minutes.
The outer sections of the Adagio are played with a rapt intensity, again con un fil di voce by lead violin Paul Serri. The turbulent inner passage is not as fierce and driven as in some accounts but is deeply melancholy and anguished rather than frantic. The rich bass sonority from the scurrying cellos in the Scherzo lends the movement extra heft and impact and I like the abandon of the players’ attack; they are not over-concerned with beauty of sound so we hear the requisite thrum and thwack of the bows on the strings. The middle section is serene and otherworldly and they apply plenty of rubato to the falling phrases. There is a real sense of ensemble teamwork in this playing; every instrument is prominent without being obtrusive and this is especially apparent in the way those rallentando phrases are perfectly unanimous. The finale is manic and wistful by turns, the violins taking on an extra raw edge in their tone and cutting right back on vibrato to enhance the eeriness of their plaintive cries. The coda leaves us breathless and far from reassured – this is rapturous music-making. Given the complete muteness of the audience throughout, the raucous applause and whoops which break out after the final bars come as a shock – but the reaction is well-deserved.
As you can tell, I like everything about this performance and was not expecting it to challenge my favourites, let alone lead the field – but it does.
After such riches, I was almost hesitant to embark upon listening to the Beethoven string quartet lest it proved to be a let-down, but the same qualities I admire in the Schubert are replicated in it. The Katok’s affect is a little richer and Romantically indulgent here, less spare, as befits this more rhapsodic work, so immediately in the first movement we hear marginally more vibrato and an even greater dynamic range, emphasising the strangeness of its peculiar intervals and jarring key changes. The second movement Allegro provides little in the way of respite or comfort despite the superficial melodiousness of its main theme and the Katok do not try to prettify its restless twists and turns. Once again, the bite and growl of Justine Metral’s cello at 4:31 is especially satisfying. As I have perhaps platitudinously remarked in previous reviews of this quartet, its emotional core is the extended Hymn of Thanksgiving. The opening slow chorale is daringly played quite free of vibrato, whereas it is resumed for the subsequent faster passage signifying “Neue Kraft fühlend” (feeling new strength), its pulsing sonically figuring the composer’s restored vibrancy and vitality. On the resumption of the upward-leaping sixth motif which opens the movement, the lead violin applies more vibrato than before, indicating that recovery is sustained and here renewed; it is little interpretative refinements like this which make the playing so varied, seductive and emotionally involving. The short coda is wonderfully serene, all four instruments floating a whisper of tone, justifying the title of this double CD: Le Temps suspendu (Time Suspended). The little Alla marcia link movement is delivered with elan, its drive and passion carried over into the joyous finale. Once again, the applause is enthusiastic – and entirely merited.
This will undoubtedly feature in my list of the best recordings of 2025.
Ralph Moore
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