ISOLA QUARTET
THE SANCTUARY, QUEEN’S CROSS CHURCH, ABERDEEN
Monday 6th March 2023
ISOLA QUARTET:
Kana Kawashima First Violin
Rachel Spencer Second Violin
Katrina Lee Viola
Alice Allen Cello
PROGRAMME:
Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981 New York)
“Strum”
Rebecca Clarke (1886 – 1979)
‘Two Movements for String Quartet’
Miss Gibson per Scott Skinner arrangement by Seonaid Aitken
‘Dark Lochnagar’
Joseph Bologne – Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745 – 1799)
String Quartet No.1 in C
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805 – 1847)
String Quartet in E flat
The Isola Quartet take their name from a work entitled ‘Isola the Disinherited’ by the Scottish feminist, writer, and war correspondent Lady Florence Dixie. Her original family name was Douglas. She was a member of the family that included the Marquesses of Queensberry. The Isola Quartet have a special interest in promoting music by composers who were female or from ethnic minorities, music that is less well known but is of first rate quality. The first composer in their programme on Monday, the American Jessie Montgomery, ticks both boxes.
It was the particular objective of composers like Aaron Copland or Leonard Bernstein to create music that was thoroughly classical, but wholly American in style. Jessie Montgomery’s “Strum” for String Quartet follows that compositional aspiration and in that, she succeeds remarkably well. Various styles of pizzicato, starting with the viola, is the rhythmic powerhouse of her piece. American popular music and folk music are celebrated in the various rhythmic styles that are created by the dancing pizzicato sounds. Melodic sweeps, from the cello and first violin in particular capture those ideas too. I read in another review that there was something of Bartók in Montgomery’s music, yes perhaps, but Bartók’s inspiration came from Eastern Europe while Montgomery’s music is wholeheartedly American. Both composers however manage to create a new special classical sound from their general musical surroundings. The Isola Quartet made Montgomery’s music fairly sizzle with excitement. Their whole performance of the work was masterly.
I did not think I was going to enjoy the next piece, especially its first movement. This was ‘Two Movements for String Quartet’ by Rebecca Clarke. Being unfamiliar with the music, I went on the internet to listen to a performance by a different quartet – no names, no pack drill! The first movement ‘Comodo amabile’ sounded murky and frankly, confused. What an astounding surprise when the Isola Quartet started to play that same first movement. The fog was blown away completely. The playing was deliciously transparent. The four instruments were perfectly blended together, but each also stood out with dazzling clarity. Rebecca Clarke’s music started to make complete sense. I had read that her music could be compared to Debussy’s. Listening to the recorded version I thought, ‘No way!’ But now, hearing Monday’s performance by the Isola Quartet, that impressionist quality shone through magnificently. The contrasting colours of the music came through with luminous clarity.
The second movement, ‘Adagio’ had sounded better even in the recorded version, but following on from a fine first movement on Monday, the Isola Quartet’s ‘Adagio’ was even more delightful with its lovely muted string sounds. I was told by someone who knows more about music than I do that a good recorded performance of Rebecca Clarke’s work does not exist. Well, Isola Quartet, you know what you must do next!
There was an extra piece to conclude the first half of the concert. I had always been fond of the Scottish song ‘Dark Lochnagar’. I used to holler it after a few drinks at musical parties in my twenties. The words were by none other than Lord Byron. Cellist Alice Allen told us about some of the background of the tune. It was often said to be by Scott Skinner but apparently the melody was created by a lady called simply, Miss Gibson. The Isola Quartet were to play an arrangement by Seonaid Aitken. It turned out to be absolutely marvellous, and with two women involved in its creation, it fitted the purpose of Monday’s programme perfectly. Cello, viola and violin all took turns with the tune embellished by delicate ornamentation by the others with a nicely harmonised flowing passage of the tune to finish.
The second half of the concert began with the two quite short movements of the ‘String Quartet in C’ by Joseph Bologne. Although born in Guadeloupe in the Caribbean as the son of a French planter and an ex-slave, Joseph was sent to France where he became not just a virtuoso violinist but a champion fencer as well. He took on the name of Chevalier de Saint-Georges. In his day, the mid to late 18th Century, he was very famous. His Quartet had two short movements with thematic contents that were like close members of the same family. He wrote six Quartets, the first to be written by a French composer in the classical style. Haydn and perhaps Mozart at his happiest were not too far from this music though it was simpler, but every bit as attractive. I thought I could detect something of the delicate to and fro of fencing in this music. The Isola Quartet players rejoiced in the dance-like spirit of this instantly attractive music.
If this piece had the Classical style at its very heart, the final piece in the concert did the same with the Romantic period. The ‘String Quartet in E Flat’ by Fanny Mendelssohn was Romantic music writ large. The first of the four movements ‘Adagio ma non troppo’ was gently but expansively played. The Isola Quartet fairly titillated us in the second movement ‘Allegretto’ with its lively and incisive counterpoints. I absolutely got the suggestion of a similarity to Fanny’s younger brother’s music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The third movement ‘Romanze’ certainly lived up to its title in Monday’s performance then, in the Finale, all four players gave us their most vigorous and exciting playing. I enjoyed all the pieces in the programme, but I understood exactly why one audience member said to me, ‘I absolutely adored the Mendelssohn’.
ALAN COOPER