Presents
Luigi Cherubini
String Quartet No.1 in E flat Major
Of his six string quartets, Luigi Cherubini's String Quartet No.1 in E flat was far and away the most popular. For the greater part of the 19th century, it was a staple of the repertoire.
Cherubini ( 1760-1842) was born Florence. He studied at the conservatories in Bologna and Milan and remained in Italy until 1788 when he moved to Paris, where he lived for the rest of his life. He made his name as a composer of opera, but by 1805 Parisian tastes had changed and the heavy, serious operas that he, Gluck and others had been writing fell out of fashion. Cherubini then turned to religious and instrumental music. He served as director of the Paris Conservatory from 1822 until his death and was regarded as one of France's leading musicians. Beethoven in 1817 wrote that he considered Cherubini the greatest living composer.
Although String Quartet No.1 was composed in 1814,
it did not receive publication until 1836. While it eventually became popular,
this did not happen immediately. Reviewing it in the influential Neue
Zeitschrift für Musik, Schumann admitted that the style of this quartet was
difficult to understand and not in the traditional language of chamber music as
pioneered by Haydn and Mozart and continued by Beethoven, Onslow and
Mendelssohn. He was correct in this assessment. Cherubini's style owes nothing
to the Vienna Classics but was derived from the dramatic tradition of Paris opera
and to a lesser degree the Quatuor Brillant. This can definitely be heard in the
first two movements. The first movement has a lengthy, almost symphonic
Adagio introduction. The main part of the movement, Allegro, retains
this style. (our sound-bite begins with the Allegro) Speaking of this movement
Schumann noted, "On first hearing, I found it disquieting, some parts operatic
and overdone, others bare, trivial and tenacious. It took several hearings for
me to appreciate it." The second movement, Larghetto sans lenteur, is in the
form of a theme and variations. The theme is in the nature of a prayer, soft and
hesitant, eventually there is a strong dramatic outburst, much in the style as
one found in the works for the Parisian Opera at that time. It was the Scherzo,
with what Schumann called "its fanciful Spanish theme" which convinced him that
the quartet was something special, and indeed it is. The cello, with its
double-stops, creates a guitar-like background, over which the violin Presents
the
dance-like melody. The exotic rhythm patterns do
the rest. The trio is a Mendelssohnian elves dance, however, since Cherubini
composed it when Mendelssohn was but 5, it would probably be more accurate to
call Mendelssohn's movements "Cherubinian." Schumann called the finale,
Allegro assai, "a glittering diamond that was resplendent from every angle."
It begins with a brief muscular introduction before the theme with its
bumptious, unorthodox rhythm is stated. The second theme is lyrical and dramatic
with the first violin and cello trading lines as in an operatic duet. There is a
strong symphonic element to this powerful music.
This quartet is quite unlike anything from its period, and rhythmically resembles no one else. Once readily available, it has, for many years now been very hard if not impossible to obtain and we are pleased to make it available once again.
Parts: $24.95
Parts & Score: $31.95
