The Raphael Ensemble - Felix Mendelssohn: String Quintets (1998) Reissue 2012
The Raphael Ensemble - Felix Mendelssohn: String Quintets (1998) Reissue 2012
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 266 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 135 Mb | Artwork included
Genre: Classical | Label: Helios/Hyperion | # CDH55377 | Time: 00:58:26
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 266 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 135 Mb | Artwork included
Genre: Classical | Label: Helios/Hyperion | # CDH55377 | Time: 00:58:26
Mendelssohn was without doubt the most precociously gifted composer the world has ever known: not even Mozart produced ‘mature’ masterpieces while still in his teens. He was also a double prodigy on the violin and piano, an exceptional athlete, a talented poet (Goethe was a childhood friend and confidant), multi-linguist, watercolorist and philosopher. He excelled at virtually anything which could hold his attention for long enough, although it was music above all which activated his creative imagination.
The two String Quintets were composed at opposite ends of his short career. No 1 was written in 1826, soon after the completion of the Octet and E major Piano Sonata and before the Overture to ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, when Mendelssohn was still only seventeen. He later substituted a slow movement in memory of his friend the violinist Eduard Rietz, and it was this revised version of the Quintet that was published in Bonn the same year and is recorded here.
Quintet No 2 dates from 1845 (when Mendelssohn was still only thirty-six), a year before his triumphant success with Elijah in Birmingham and just two years prior to his premature death.
“The most precociously gifted composer the world has ever known.” Annotator Julian Haylock justifiably celebrates a musical talent “which was almost inexhaustible in terms of promise and potential”, though, generally speaking, Mendelssohn’s terms of inspirational reference were more in the realms of sweet remembrances and elfin delights than among deeper climes or lingering shadows.
These two quintets – both of them masterpieces – emanate from opposite ends of Mendelssohn’s career, Op. 18 being very much of a piece with the Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, while Op. 87 presents more in the way of ardent lyricism (Toscanini programmed the Adagio e lento in a full-strings transcription).
The Raphael Ensemble’s smoothly mellifluous performances fall into direct competition with the rather more formal Berlin String Quintet performances on Dabringhaus und Grimm and the more intensely expressive 1970s Sony recordings led by Jaime Laredo. The Raphael’s ecstatic involvement is tellingly exemplified 9'40'' into the first movement of Op. 18, where converging string lines set up some gloriously full textures, whereas the Scherzo’s contrapuntal scurryings inspire quiet-voiced virtuosity.
Both performances convey the shimmer and bustle of Mendelssohn’s string writing without forcing the issue, and the June 1997 recordings (Brandon Hill, Bristol) are well-nigh ideal.
As to comparisons, the Raphael scores for imagination, tonal integration and musicality. Like the Berliners, they honour Op. 18’s substantial first-movement repeat, but neither group quite matches Laredo’s rapt encounter with Op. 87’s Adagio e lento (10'12'' to compare with the Raphael’s 9'45'' and the Berlin String Quintet’s 8'56'', and a more ‘old-fashioned’ – vibrato-laden – approach than either). Of course tempo isn’t everything, but in this instance it does tend to signify that extra degree of emotional commitment. In most other respects, however, the Raphaels pip their rivals to the post and will provide discerning readers with a rich yield of musical pleasure. 'Review by Gramophone
The Raphael Ensemble - Felix Mendelssohn: String Quintets (1998) Reissue 2012
The Raphael Ensemble at Allmusic
The Raphael Ensemble at Wiki
The Raphael Ensemble
Anthony Marwood, Catherine Manson violins
Timothy Boulton, Louise Williams violas
Andrea Hess (Op.18), Michael Stirling (Op.87) cellos
Recorded in St George’s, Brandon Hill, Bristol, on 23–25 June 1997.
Tracklist:
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
String Quintet No.1 in A major, Op.18
01. I. Allegro con moto (11:16)
02. II. Intermezzo: Andante sostenuto (7:44)
03. III. Scherzo: Allegro di molto (4:18)
04. IV. Allegro vivace (6:09)
String Quintet No.2 in B flat major, Op.87
05. I. Allegro vivace (9:52)
06. II. Andante scherzando (4:45)
07. III. Adagio & lento (8:44)
08. IV. Allegro molto vivace (5:38)
Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011
EAC extraction logfile from 4. January 2013, 1:47
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EAC extraction logfile from 4. January 2013, 1:47
The Raphael Ensemble / Mendelssohn - String Quintets
Used drive : HL-DT-STDVDRAM GSA-4083N Adapter: 1 ID: 0
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Used output format : User Defined Encoder
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Add ID3 tag : No
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TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:01.00 | 11:16.00 | 75 | 50774
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6 | 39:20.00 | 4:45.00 | 177000 | 198374
7 | 44:05.00 | 8:44.25 | 198375 | 237699
8 | 52:49.25 | 5:37.62 | 237700 | 263036
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foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2018-06-28 19:25:30
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: The Raphael Ensemble / Mendelssohn - String Quintets
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR15 -1.86 dB -23.03 dB 11:16 01-String Quintet No.1 in A major, Op.18 - I. Allegro con moto
DR14 -2.82 dB -23.57 dB 7:44 02-String Quintet No.1 in A major, Op.18 - II. Intermezzo: Andante sostenuto
DR16 -2.42 dB -25.73 dB 4:18 03-String Quintet No.1 in A major, Op.18 - III. Scherzo: Allegro di molto
DR14 -1.36 dB -20.19 dB 6:09 04-String Quintet No.1 in A major, Op.18 - IV. Allegro vivace
DR13 -0.45 dB -19.29 dB 9:52 05-String Quintet No.2 in B flat major, Op.87 - I. Allegro vivace
DR15 -3.57 dB -25.57 dB 4:45 06-String Quintet No.2 in B flat major, Op.87 - II. Andante scherzando
DR15 -0.41 dB -21.73 dB 8:44 07-String Quintet No.2 in B flat major, Op.87 - III. Adagio & lento
DR14 -0.21 dB -19.91 dB 5:38 08-String Quintet No.2 in B flat major, Op.87 - IV. Allegro molto vivace
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Number of tracks: 8
Official DR value: DR14
Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 634 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================
log date: 2018-06-28 19:25:30
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: The Raphael Ensemble / Mendelssohn - String Quintets
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR15 -1.86 dB -23.03 dB 11:16 01-String Quintet No.1 in A major, Op.18 - I. Allegro con moto
DR14 -2.82 dB -23.57 dB 7:44 02-String Quintet No.1 in A major, Op.18 - II. Intermezzo: Andante sostenuto
DR16 -2.42 dB -25.73 dB 4:18 03-String Quintet No.1 in A major, Op.18 - III. Scherzo: Allegro di molto
DR14 -1.36 dB -20.19 dB 6:09 04-String Quintet No.1 in A major, Op.18 - IV. Allegro vivace
DR13 -0.45 dB -19.29 dB 9:52 05-String Quintet No.2 in B flat major, Op.87 - I. Allegro vivace
DR15 -3.57 dB -25.57 dB 4:45 06-String Quintet No.2 in B flat major, Op.87 - II. Andante scherzando
DR15 -0.41 dB -21.73 dB 8:44 07-String Quintet No.2 in B flat major, Op.87 - III. Adagio & lento
DR14 -0.21 dB -19.91 dB 5:38 08-String Quintet No.2 in B flat major, Op.87 - IV. Allegro molto vivace
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Number of tracks: 8
Official DR value: DR14
Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 634 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================
The Raphael Ensemble - Felix Mendelssohn: String Quintets (1998) Reissue 2012
