Haydn's Op.9 string quartets, composed around 1770, roughly a decade after his first attempt at the genre, probably represent the true birth of the medium.
On this superb double disc set from Hyperion, the London Haydn Quartet's playing of the set is intense, passionate and revelatory. It is difficult to imagine finer interpretations of these occasionally formulaic but always melodically colourful works.
The quartet - comprising Catherine Manson and Margaret Faultless on violin, James Boyd on viola and Jonathan Cohen on cello - play on gut strings with classical bows. There is to be found none of the reserve or prissiness that can sometimes characterise period performance. The sound here is bright, resonant and gritty, the lack of vibrato adding a spicy, piquant tang to the ensemble timbre. The bowing is confident; tempi are firm and steady, yet subtle inflections and rhythmic manipulations crank up the drama to breaking point.
There is not one dull passage on either disc; the group fully understand the architecture of each quartet and strive to bring a natural ebb and flow to their playing. At times, one is reminded of Philip Larkin’s glorious description of string playing: "cascades of monumental slithering". Not that there is no moment of repose: in the Adagio of No.6, a stately violin aria with fluttering, murmuring triplet accompaniment, one cannot help but bask in the gloriously lyrical, graceful violin solo, by turn searing and withdrawn, brushed with flecks of glinting portamento.
Quartet No.4 is perhaps the most famous of the set - possibly the first of the six to be written (consequently it's the first work on the CD) and Haydn's first quartet in the minor key. Here, the group's vibrato-less sound gains an eerie, strangely nocturnal quality. Their expressive range is great, with large dynamic and textural palates; Haydn's stuttering, sighing melodic lines and rhythms are carefully, confidently laid out. And the players know when to hold back too: the Presto's contrapuntal opening is subtly, not ostentatiously, virtuosic, while the development section's arpeggiated staccato passages eagerly and successfully balance raucous comedy with sad resignation.
The trend continues, every performance a minor masterpiece of deft, dramatic playing. Hyperion have recorded the performances in clear, clean (if not luxurious) sound, with each string line bright and carefully balanced and no extraneous noise present. Richard Wigmore's concise, thoughtful programme note can only add to appreciation of these fine works.
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