But I love these recordings of 17th C consort music by string quartet. They bring it out of the music chest and the library and into the concert hall - especially peformances as confident as these, by the New Music String Quartet: Broadus Earle, Matthew Raimondi (violins), Walter Trampler (viola), Claus Adam (cello). Recorded by Peter Bartók in about 1952, I reckon, for his own label, on which this was first released as LP number 913, some time in the first half of 1953. The Quartet made quite a few interesting LPs of early music for Bartók, from Alessandro Scarlatti to F.X. Richter; some have been reissued on CD - but not this one. This World Record Club Recorded Music Circle issue must date from the late 1950s, no? I wish I knew more about this fascinating label: all info grumpily received.
The two Gibbons 4-part Fantasias (his only two) have been transposed up a fourth; at this pitch and in the NMSQ's hands they zing with high tension and rhythmic drive. Perhaps the Quartet should have upped Locke's sixth Consort of Ffowre Parts too; it comes across least well of the 5 pieces here. This was not its first recording; amazingly, that was made in 1929 by the National Gramophonic Society, with André Mangeot and his International String Quartet playing Mangeot's edition of a transcription by Warlock (I dunno what edition was used here - quite possibly the same?). The movements are Fantazia, Courante, Ayre, Saraband.
The famous Purcell Chacony, on the other hand, has a reticent delicacy that I really like - no Nymanesque chugging or overblown climax. Not on the disc, anyway.
Download the 5 fully tagged mono FLAC files in a .rar archive from here.
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ReplyDeleteThanks so much for these. The NMQ were such a great and under-recorded ensemble. For anyone interested, their Beethoven (available on the Bartok site you link to) is just stunning.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have catalogues or release sheets? I'd love to date some of the WRC issues, which weren't reviewed in the Gramophone. In fact, we really need a complete discography!
ReplyDeleteThe WRC records weren't reviewed in Gramophone because the major labels saw cheap record club issues as a threat and put pressure on Gramophone not to review them, and craven Gramophone gave in. They started to review the records in the early 1960s, when WRC had been taken over buy EMI.
ReplyDeleteI started a discography years ago, but never managed to complete it. It's not up to Philip Stuart level and has no dates, but for what it's worth:
http://rapidshare.com/files/412945477/WRC.xlr.html
Thank you, David, I suspected WRC was perhaps regarded as infra dig but your Machiavellian explanation makes sense - and reminds us unfair practices aren't new even in the classical record business... And thank you so, so much for the discography! I will try to add more info when I can. At least it'll stop me buying monos where stereos exist. Best wishes, Nick
ReplyDeleteDear Nick,
ReplyDeleteI assume you are the Nick Morgan who wrote a piece on downloading in the Summer issue of Classic Record Collector?
You say of the Archival Sound Recordings site that the recordings can't be downloaded and saved: true up to a point (at least not directly) but there are plenty of programmes that will record while streaming - I use Total Recorder.
Best wishes,
David
Thanks, Grumpy.
ReplyDeleteHi all, Sorry not to have responded earlier! I've no idea what was on those LPs either. I guess it's a question of looking through old mags and release sheets - if anyone has them? I shall try to remember next time I'm at the BL (though I believe LPs are unavailable at the moment, as the entire collection is being moved). G
ReplyDeleteFascinating, thank you!
ReplyDelete