Faure's String Quartet in E minor Opus 121 was composed about 20 years
after Ravel's String Quartet while Faure was in the twilight of his life.
The Faure quartet is rooted in the romantic era, displaying little of the
adventure of Ravel's String Quartet.  At the same time, the quartet is a
restrained work of highly delicate nature.

Jean Chantavoine, in Le Menestrel, wrote of Faure's String Quartet:

   "This work seems to move, as it were, in a rather limited field of
   infinity.  By this I mean that there are no very strong contrasts in
   movement, rhythm or accent between the three pieces that make up the
   work.  It does not even cover very extensive regions of the sound
   scale.  The melodic material has not very much substance either and
   the harmonic framework, which is extremely delicate and carefully
   chosen, seems to have given up the shimmer and tenderness, the charm
   of which is so intense and personal elsewhere in Faure's works.
   Instead, we find ourselves holding our breath as we follow the slightly
   abstract meditation of pure spirit."

Faure wrote that "the first two parts of the quartet are expressive and
sustained in style.  The third movement must be light, a sort of scherzo
similar to the finale of my trio".  I want to add that although the third
movement certainly does have a lighter nature than the first two, all three
have a common bond of subtlety, melancholy, and lack of interest in musical
extremes.  While the Ravel travels all over the spectrum with great
conciseness, Faure stays in the middle and is much more expansive and
luxuriant.  It wouldn't be unreasonable to wonder if the work can sustain
interest, given its limited foundation.  I feel it sustains interest
excellently through its harmonic invention and the depth of its subtlety.

The first movement, Allegro moderato, is very much a "meditation of pure
spirit".  Its basic themes are borrowed from a Faure violin concerto which
he abandoned.  The music is contemplative in nature and generally subdued,
although there are passages containing a sense of urgency.  The piece is
also quite lovely and has significant counterpoint.

The Miami Quartet has the fastest first movement, well under six minutes.
They tend to gloss over the music, missing its subtlety and depth.  In
effect, sustaining interest throughout the movement becomes a problem with
their emotionally undernourished performance.

Both the Ad Libitum and Rosamonde Quartets dig into the music and come
up with heart-felt readings.  The Rosamonde sound somewhat urbane; I like
that.  The Ad Libitum are quite incisive; that's great also.  Concerning
tempos, the Rosamonde are slower, and that continues in the other two
movements as well.  In contrast, the Ad Libitum Quartet is consistently
slower in the Ravel.  What doesn't change at all is that both groups keep
giving excellent performances.

The second movement is an Andante in the key of A minor.  Commentator J.
M. Nectoux says the Andante "is bathed from end to end in a supernatural
light.  Pale dawns appear, illuminating regions that only a few musicians
have ever reached.  There is nothing which is not beautiful in this
movement with its subtle variations of light-play, a sort of white upon
white".

As in the first movement, the Miami Quartet is fastest and undernourished.
In their hands, the music could represent just a nostalgic and pleasant
Sunday at the park.  But the Ad Libitum and Rosamonde Quartets explore
those "illuminating regions", eliciting from this listener emotions and
images which are dormant in the Miami Quartet's performance.

Faure's third and final movement is an Allegro in the form of a scherzo.
The Ad Libitum and Rosamonde Quartets each clock in at a little over nine
minutes; the Miami Quartet is under eight minutes.  Frankly, I do not feel
that there is sufficient inventiveness or variety in the music to
accomodate the length of the movement.

Being lighter in spirit than the first two movements, the third movement
is more aligned with the Miami's approach; further, their faster speed
is somewhat advantageous as well.  The result is that each of the three
versions is enjoyable, but none gives me the impression that the movement
has enough to offer for an eight or nine minute duration.

Overall, I consider the Ad Libitum and Rosamonde versions of the Faure
String Quartet about equal with the Miami significantly less worthy.
And I just don't think that the Faure, at any point, approaches the
inventiveness and mastery of the Ravel String Quartet.

The original focus of these reviews was to arrive at a conclusion between
the Ad Libitum and Rosamonde recordings of the Ravel and Faure coupling.
I find each of them to be excellent choices for both works.  The price
advantage of the Ad Libitum is a definite consideration in their favor;
you get a masterful quartet played superbly and a fine quartet excellently
executed for well under $10.  The Ad Libitum are the "real thing", and no
one should think that quality will be sacrificed at the low price.  The
only disadvantage of the Rosamonde recording is that Pierre Verany costs
more than Naxos.  Personally, I'm very glad to have them both, and each
will get much playing time on my audio equipment.

Next on my reviewing agenda is a survey of some recordings of Mozart's 19th
and 27th piano concertos.  I recently acquired the new Richard Goode disc
of this coupling, and I'll be comparing it to alternative versions which
I have enjoyed over the past years.

Don Satz
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