A4 Brass Quartet
Jamie Smith; Jonathan Bates; Mike Cavanagh; Chris Robertson
World of Sound Recordings: WOS179
‘Classic’ marks the third studio release from an ensemble that started life as a RNCM student quartet in 2013. The passing of time has seen post-degree personal circumstances change – bands, jobs and even marriage, yet there remains a distinctive cohesive singularity about their musical outlook and ambition.
Their debut recording, ‘Mists of the Mountains’ was a series of original compositions, the second, ‘Mosaic’ (2019), a mix with lightweight transcriptions. Here the arc of a progressive distillation process is completed by 14 bespoke classical arrangements.
Where time and circumstance may lead further explorations will mark a new point of departure for a group defined by its inventive thinking and polished maturity.
Miniaturisation
That is certainly displayed in the miniaturisation processes employed in the neat arrangements of ‘The Barber of Seville’ (although taken from a previous 2019 recording), ‘Die Fledermaus’, the ‘Saltarello’ from Mendelssohn’s ‘Symphony No.4’ and the ‘finale’ from Gounod’s ‘Faust’.
What you lose in technicolour pigmentation and texture is compensated for by the concentrated style and essence of the playing.
What you lose in technicolour pigmentation and texture (there is no distinctive use of muted colouring and only very limited instrumental experimentation from the core cornet/horn/baritone/euphonium line-up) is compensated for by the concentrated style and essence of the playing.
Understanding
The main musical lines are seamlessly passed between the players with intuitive understanding and there is little to better the tonal quality of balance and lineal phrasing shown on Chesnokov’s ‘Tebe Poem’ and the Tallis ‘If Ye Love Me’.
there is little to better the tonal quality of balance and lineal phrasing shown on Chesnokov’s ‘Tebe Poem’ and the Tallis ‘If Ye Love Me’.
And whilst ‘Festmusik der stadt Wien’ is as a lightweight as a student’s wallet, both the familiar Strauss ‘Czardas’ and the Debussy ‘Deuxieme Arabesque’ (also from a previous recording) more than pay their way.
Acidic distaste
The Bach ‘Inventions Nos 1-4’ and ‘Fugue in G Minor’ work splendidly in displaying the core DNA of their original construction and development, whilst the ‘Second Movement’ of the Shostakovich ‘String Quartet No. 8’ retains the essence of his acidic distaste to having been coerced into joining the Communist Party in 1960.
the ‘Second Movement’ of the Shostakovich ‘String Quartet No. 8’ retains the essence of his acidic distaste to having been coerced into joining the Communist Party in 1960.
Hopefully the foursome didn’t quietly pack their cases and walk out the door after recording it, as did the Borodin Quartet after playing it to the composer at his home.
Elsewhere, contrast comes with the bucolic sentiments of Vaughan-Williams’ ‘English Folk Song Suite’ played with just the right balance of jauntiness and sentimentality, whilst Chris Robertson displays his virtuosity without overplaying the student showmanship on ‘Carnival of Venice’.
Iwan Fox
To purchase: http://www.a4brassquartet.co.uk
Play list:
1. Festmusik der stadt Wien (Strauss arr. J. Bates)
2. The Barber of Seville - Overture (Rossini arr. C. Robertson)
3. Inventions Nos 1-4 (Bach arr. J. Bates)
i. Invention No.1
ii. Invention No.2
iii. Invention No.3
iv. Invention No.4
7. Fugue in G Minor (Bach arr. C. Roberstson)
8. If Ye Love Me (Tallis arr. J. Bates)
9. English Folk Song Suite (Vaughan-Williams arr. J. Bates)
i. March – Seventeen Come Sunday
ii. Intermezzo – My Bonny Boy
iii. March – Folk Songs from Somerset
12. String Quartet No.8 (2nd Movement) (Shostakovich arr. J. Bates)
13. Overture to ‘Die Fledermaus’ (Strauss arr. J. Bates)
14. Deuxieme Arabesque (Debussy arr. I. Quane)
15. Czardas (Monti arr. J. Bates)
16. Tebe Poem (Chesnokov arr. J. Bates)
17. Carnival of Venice (Arban arr. C. Robertson)
Soloist: Chris Robertson
18. Symphony No.4 (Saltarello) (Mendelssohn arr. C. Robertson)
19. Finale from Faust (Gounod arr. C. Robertson)
