There are only two recordings of
the complete Michael Tippet String
Quartets currently available. The Lindsay’s concluded their cycle in 1992,
with the first three Quartets having
been recorded in 1975. For many years, apart from the odd chamber concert or
private hearing, this has been the only medium for exploring these seminal works.
And excellent they are too. However, all Tippett enthusiasts will be delighted
that the eponymous Quartet has been selected by
The Tippett Quartet, which was
formed a decade ago, has rapidly become one of Britain ’s leading string quartets. Their ‘mission statement’ is to combine
so-called mainstream repertoire with contemporary works. They have recently
made recordings for Dutton Epoch of music by Cecilia McDowall and Stephen
Dodgson. They have been well received.
Naturally as their name implies they have a ‘soft spot’ for the works of
Sir Michael.
Since hearing the first three Quartets way back in 1975, I have agreed
with commentators that these works are critical to an understanding of the music
of Michael Tippett. The Fourth and Fifth Quartets chart the composer’s progress into a different soundscape,
but still are essential to an appreciation of his career.
The first volume of this Naxos release contrasts the first two ‘lyrical’ Quartets with the much more dissonant Fourth, which was written in 1977-78.
The programme notes point out
that Michael Tippett, as a student, was ‘invincibly’ drawn to the quartet
medium’ after hearing performances in London by the Busch and the Lener String
Quartet ensembles. He is known to have written a number of unpublished quartets
in the late 1920s. However it was the Quartet
in A major that was the first work in the genre to be accepted as part of
Tippett’s canon. It appeared in its original form in 1935. In 1943 it was revised: the work was reduced
from four movements to three. The composer had felt that the first two were
unsuccessful. He composed a new ‘allegro appassionato, which clearly reflects
the composer’s admiration of Beethoven.
The slow movement is truly beautiful. It is ‘cast in the form of an
Elizabethan Pavane and Tippett describes this music as being ‘almost unbroken
lines of lyric song for all the instruments in harmony.’ The final movement is
an enthusiastic allegro which is really a fugue – although without the pedantic
overtones that such a form may suggest. This fugue is perhaps more redolent of
Beethoven than J.S. Bach.
The Second String Quartet builds on the success of the first and once
again it owes much of its ethos to Beethoven. It has been well described as being ‘lithe and
dancing’. Certainly lyricism is one of the hallmarks of this work. One reviewer
suggested that the key designation of F# major should not put off atonalists
from enjoying this quartet. Contrariwise, those who enjoy traditional key
relationships should not assume that Tippett will oblige them: certainly the
work begins in F# minor and concludes in the tonic major, as does the second
movement fugue. However, a better impression is gained if it assumed that Tippett
has designed a work that hovers around the ‘noted’ key rather than use it as a
part of the work’s tonal structure. Yet
the composer himself states that this quartet is the most classically balanced
of the first three. Certainly at the first glance it would appear to be written
in standard four-movement form. However the composer insists that the “standard
is juggled with and moved around.”
Certainly this work ought to rank
as one of the finest examples of a Twentieth Century string quartet. It seems
unbelievable that there are on two or three recordings of this currently
available. The Second Quartet was
first performed in 1943.
The first time I heard the Fourth String Quartet, I admit that I
was not impressed. The style of this work seemed to me a million miles away
from the Tippett that I knew and loved. This included the Double Concerto, the first two Quartets,
the A Midsummer Marriage and of
course A Child of our Time. I did
realise that there was a more complex and dissonant side to Tippets’ art – having
ploughed my way through a recording of the Vision
of St Augustine. I remember hearing the first performance of the Fourth Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall
and feeling it was just not what I imagined or hoped what it would be like. It
was harder to come to terms with than the blues-influenced Third Symphony. Of course that was all a very long time ago now. Music , like life, sorts itself out. What was
difficult listening for me in 1978 now seems quite reasonable and even
enjoyable. Moreover, the same can be said of the Fourth Quartet. Listening to this work for the first time in many
years I was impressed by both the sound world and the formal balance of this
work. Of course Tippett has written much, to my mind, obscure and obtuse words
about his compositional ethos. Sometimes this can be of help, but more often that
not it is a hindrance to an appreciation of the music. The programme notes
point out that in this present work Tippett was exploring “the compositional
potential of one-movement form, using it a metaphor for the cycle of life.” Here,
this life is a specifically human one, and that of a certain individual. Over and above this emotional programme, the
composer was attempting to attain the ‘purity and tenderness’ of Beethoven in
this work.
The sleeve notes gives quite a
long analysis of this work – which deserves study. However the key thing to
note is that there is much beauty in this work – in spite of the reputation
this work has for dissonance. And finally, the work is really conceived as being
in one movement – as opposed to the earlier works. The Quartet has a number of sections, which contrast tempi, and to a
certain extent harmonic language, but is played without a break. Finally the
listener will surely note that the third section is truly lyrical: the music
here is beautiful and lacks the acerbic sound of earlier pages.
I strongly recommend this CD to
all interested in the chamber music of Michael Tippett. These three works as
performed with great technical skill, articulation and sheer understanding of
the music. Naturally there is a hiatus
in style between the first two Quartets
on this disc and the last. Yet the Tippett Quartet are equally at home with the
lyrical demands of the earlier works as they are with the more complex, dissonant
and involved structures of the last. However, if the listener needs a sample of
the sheer perfection of this recording, they only need to listen to the Lento cantabile of the A major Quartet.
This is surely one of the most beautiful and moving pieces of music in
Tippett’s catalogue in particular and English music in general.
Track Listing:
Sir Michael Tippett (1905-1998)
String Quartets Volume 1
String Quartet No.1
in A major (1934-35, rev. 1943)
String Quartet No. 2
in F sharp major (1941-1942)
String Quartet No. 4 (1977-78)
The Tippett Quartet: John Mills, violin; Jeremy Isaac,
violin; Maxine Moore, viola, Bozidar Vukotic, cello.
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