Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Castillon and Saint Saens String Quartet - Quatuor de Chartres 2012

Composer: Alexis de Castillon (1838 - 1873), Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 – 1921)
Performer: Quatuor de Chartres
Label: 1-2-3-4 GO
Release: January 2013

Buy it here at Amazon

Camille Saint Saens composed two string quartets that nowday buried into obscurity. The quartet had been performed and record by few ensemble, notable the Viotti String Quartet. But then, lesser reference to these work and its shadowed by Camille others work. Quatuor de Chartres coming from French and as my research say they already form as long as in 1984. The violinist Gerald Conde is the founding member and they were since a prize winning quartet playing through out Europe. The ensemble bring this piece of Op.112 String Quartet in Em to fresh recording. The piece itself is 30 minutes composition, with intense Romantic style, faithful to Beethoven middle quartet.

Add in together is the main menu, Alexis de Castillon's String quartet in A minor, op. 3 by year 1867.  The description in Amazon say, Composed in 1867, this first attempt for strings shows Alexis de Castillon s gift for inventiveness. The work is juxtaposed with Saint-Saëns expressive Quartet, Op. 112, whose passionate gravity reminds one of Beethoven.

Fans of string quartet especially French region need to get this CD.

Piece:
de Castillon String Quartet in Am Op.3
Saint Saens String Quartet in Em Op.112