Quatuor Alcan - Mendelssohn: Requiem for Fanny (2007)

The subtitle of this album, "Requiem for Fanny," comes from the label given by Mendelssohn to his sixth and final string quartet. The dark and unusually tumultuous composition was completed only a few short months before the composer's untimely death at the age of 38, and followed on the heels of the death of his sister, Fanny. The result is a quartet that, for Mendelssohn, is unusually dark, pensive, and aggressive. The Quatuor Alcan does a fine job in most aspects in the performance of the piece. The tempo choices and pacing appear to be well considered, and the ensemble itself seems quite tight and unified with respect to articulation. The third-movement Adagio is beautifully played, not too slow, and allows the warm sound of the inner voices to shine through. Still, there are a couple of factors that detract from the performance. The first violin's sound too often dominates the ensemble and, with the exception of the third movement, is more appropriate for a performance of a Haydn quartet than Mendelssohn. There's also an intonation discrepancy between the higher range of the first violin and the rest of the quartet, with the violin falling rather flat at times. For a performance of similar musical integrity but superior balance and intonation, listeners may wish to try out the performances given by either the Ysaÿe or Aurora String Quartets. ~ Mike D. Brownell