Quartetto Psophos

Come sempre accade da una ricerca generica scopro un capolavoro di un grande compositore,,,
è il caso di Bacri,,,,con i suoi quartetti,,,,in questo cd il P. ne interpreta quattro,,,
un mio vecchio cliente mi diceva,,,,”sig Carlo lei deve sapere che un compositore si può definire grande solo se ha composto per quartetto d’archi,,,,con la sola eccezione di Bach”
Bacri con i suoi quartetti è un grande,,,,lo stile è Bartokiano,,,,ma farei un torto a definirlo un epigono,,,,il quarto quartetto è dedicato a Beethoven,,,,ed include dei passaggi della Grande fuga,,,

Codice:

 No other French composer has devoted his time and skill so well as Bacri has with his string quartets, a medium still regarded as the most intimate. What other French composer has written eight string quartets?
Jean-Guy Bailly was born in 1925 and Bacri commissioned Bally’s sixth quartet when he was head of chamber music department of Radio France (1987-91). As to Bacri’s own prolific output, he is the only French composer in history so far, along with Jean Catoire, to have written 6 symphonies before reaching the age of 40.
Bacri has taken the string quartet genre and made it his very own and it is clear that he is seeking his own voice and style..
His Opus 1 was his first string quartet followed by the String Quartet no 2, Op 5. The String Quartet no 3, Op 18 is entitled Esquisses pour un tombeau (Sketches for a tomb). It is concise lasting 8 minutes and like many of Bacri’s works written as an in memorial – this time to the composer Alexander Zemlinsky. It was written between 1985 and 1988 and is in three movements and is funereal in character and, in a small measure, may hint at Zemlinsky’s Quartet no 2. There is a quote from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.” It was written about the time that Bacri met with the Italian composer, Scelsi. And his influence is audible.
The String Quartet no 4, Op 42 was six years in the making having been written between 1989 and 1995 and is entitled Homage to Beethoven. The Beethoven in mind is the Grosse Fugue. The quartet is in three movements, the outer ones being slow with a middle movement which is a toccata and variations. This opening movement is also funereal in character but increases in dramatic content and is in ABA form. Sometimes the music is painfully beautiful and is one of the very many examples of this composer’s reverence and acknowledgement of other composers. Sometimes the toccata movement is somewhat restrained which makes a fine contrast with the fiery music. The finale is a meditation based on the spirit of the Lux AEterna and has a choral-like theme. It is a sombre piece.
Throughout this work there are passages written as Beethoven might have written them and, by this, Bacri is recognising the master’s skill and technique.
It is a very fine quartet.

Dedicated to the Danel Quartet, the String Quartet no 5, Op 57 is an extended work of about 25 minutes. It is in four movements marked Sonata, Elegie, Scherzo senza trio and a substantial Passacaglia. It was written in the summer of 1997. The first movement is a true sonata. There is a beautiful lyricism and a strident and perhaps acidic harsh rhythmic vitality. At one point we seem to briefly drift into a waltz like feeling.
The Elegie was written in memory of a friend, Thierry Mobillon, Head of the Durand publishing house, and the work is continuously melodious and poignantly sad. The letters in the name of the dead friend are used as an In Nomine. The calm gives way to a dramatic outpouring before the calm returns. This lament might be a little too much for some.
The Scherzo is joyful music with effective pizzicato writing and it dispels the sorrow of what has gone before. Some have said that it is reminiscent of Bartok but, as with all of Bacri’s quartets, the music always has an original voice. The perpetual mobile style generates breathtaking excitement. That there is no trio section is a wise judgement since we do not lose the work’s impetus. The finale, an extended passacaglia, is marked adagio doloroso and is in ABA form and largely rooted in the low registers of the instruments. The use of a traditional form, the passacaglia, shows Bacri’s acceptance of traditional forms as also we see in the opening movement named sonata. What is admirable is the coherence of the passacaglia; it can be easily followed. The music here is more airy than the elegy. The theme of the first movement reappears making the work cyclic and convincing. It is a major work and deserves worldwide recognition.
The String Quartet no 6, Op 97, is in three movements and dates from 2006.
Let me give some details of this absorbing work.
The first movement begins in an eerie, sinister fashion before exploding into a vigorous and exciting meteor shower. The music is tense, edgy, passionate, dramatic and utterly convincing. Sometimes it seems brutal and other times sad or lyrically introspective. All the instruments are treated as equal, as they should be, making for an integral movement. The slow movement Adagio molto uses material from the opening movement as a development that one finds in sonata form and is predominately lyrical and, to my mind, has the feel of a tragedy. The finale, allegro impetuoso e furioso, is a set of variations and a fugue. Not only is it exciting but it has a relentless rhythmic drive. At bar 111, the music is marked massivo and, at bar 133, the music slightly slackens into a mysterious mode. The dramatic and exciting music makes a welcome return and, as we have said, the slow movement, an adagio molto, recalls the opening. The variations and fugue is marked impetuoso and becomes furioso. Was ever a quartet so exciting? There are some gorgeous lyrical passages marked espressivo and then furtivo. There is a giocoso passage, eleven bars marked serio and then we are back into the dramatic music. There is a magnificent and triumphant conclusion.
In fact, the finale is a synthesis between fugue and variations. As you can see in the score, the subject is, each time, varied but strictly following the scheme of a real “fugue d’école”.
The Quartet lasts about 14 minutes and is dedicated to Jacques Boisgallais, who is a very good composer and whose works include two symphonies and three string quartets also dedicated to the Psophos Quartet. The introduction is a thoughtful Adagio leading to a very exciting allegro fuocoso. The solemn music returns, followed by the allegro marked legato marcato and which becomes stirring and exhilarating in a passage marked brutal.
This work is a masterpiece and I cannot refrain from saying so and as good as the masterly quartets of Bartok. It is music from both the heart and the brain and it reaches the soul. There is something indefinably special about this work. I could not be without it. If the Quartet no 5 deserves world wide recognition, this quartet is an even more obvious choice.” David C F Wright