National Gramophonic Society Notes

A new leaflet about the Society has been prepared, setting forth its objects, development and the conditions of membership. Copies will be supplied to any member who can usefully distribute them. The six 12in. records of the Schubert Quintet, about which Mr.

W. W. Cobbett, F.R.C.M., has kindly written the following note for us, will be distributed during the month, together with the long-promised 12-in. and 10-in, records of short works by Orlando Gibbons, Eugene Goossens, and Ernest Tomlinson.

Schubert's String Quintet in C major

THIS Quintet was Schubert's Swan Song. Written in September, 1828, he died two months after its completion, at the age of thirty-one years and nine months. It is scored for string quartet with a second 'cello added, a combination which connotes such wondrous possibilities of tone colour that it is little less than remarkable that so few composers have adopted it. There exist a thousand string quartets, but scarcely a dozen of these quintets, unless one includes a long series of works by Boccherini and Onslow, in which the second 'cello does little more than take the place of a double bass. The Russians, Glazounov, Taniev, Zolotarev, Malichewsky, and the Austrian, Goldmark, have written quintets of some musical interest, but in all of these the weight of tone of the bass instruments is occasionally felt to the disadvantage of the music.

This is not the case in Schubert's work, in which a perfect balance of tone is preserved, and which is one of the masterpieces of chamber music. It has not the epic quality of Beethoven, the humour of Haydn, nor the perfection of structure of Mozart, but in its melodic . charm and especially in the inevitability of its modulations, it has not, in my opinion, been equalled by any composer before or since, whilst of its purely human appeal I can give a very convincing instance. I have known four musicians, all greatly experienced in this class of music, and none in the least inclined by disposition to sentimentality, who have with strange unanimity expressed th3 feeling that, were they fated in their last hours to listen to some lovely strain, this would be the music of their election.

One of these, John Saunders, an accomplished quartet leader in his time, is no longer with us. Upon his tomb in Norwood Cemetery are inscribed a few bars of this quintet, probably by his own wish.

with alternate figures of accompaniment which should not escape attention, for this is idealistic string writing of a strangely beautiful kind.

Part 2 has many strenuous moments, the triplets and syncopations in the inner parts being difficult to render with clarity upon the gramophone. In Parts 3 and 4 the movement develops at considerable length, No. 4 containing only the last bars, which have a typically Schubertian ring. On the same record (Part 4) the E major Adagio steals upon the listener like perfume on a night wind. The pizzicato notes of the violin will be noticed, with a slight response from the second 'cello.

In Part 5 there is storm and stress and (more Beethoven) some eloquent pauses, a startling enharmonic change, and then an episode (Part 6) in which the second 'cello has running passages which only an artist of great experience can accomplish adequately. They are the bete noire of the amateur 'cellist, and require much anxious rehearsal.

Part 7 contains the last bars of the slow movement, followed by the Scherzo, a movement of extreme virility, known to the French (so Sarasate, who resided in Paris, told me) as La Chasse. And with good reason. One hears the winding of the horns, the tramp of horsemen, pulling up and starting again in eager pursuit of the quarry, and finally a sharp pistol shot, the coup de grace given to the hunted animal.

Part 8, the Trio (Andante sostenuto) in D fiat major, demands. very serious attention from the listener. It differs from any " trio " that ever was written, and is in strong contrast with those to be found in Schubert's other instrumental works. No lovely variant of the Scherzo, no cheerful Landler is here but a presentment of the soul state of a moribund artist seeking to

I have said enough to show to subscribers what is the character of the work now recorded. We, who have essayed to interpret it, are fully conscious of the imperfections of the rendering, but are able to say, in all sincerity, that we have felt deeply every note played and so may succeed in winning some sympathy from listeners. From the comments made by those who have heard the test records I am glad to quote one. Miss Geisler-Schubert, a grand-niece of the composer, expressed her delight that the N.G.S. should in this way bring knowledge of her kinsman's music to so many music lovers, in private circles, who are unable to hear the " real thing." Among the listeners to the test records who have spoken of them in sympathetic terms are Spencer Dyke, the Loner Quartet, Ethel Hobday, Edwin Evans and a few others, but it is the Society's wider audience which really counts and— none verrons. I take this opportunity of cordially thanking those subscribers (about eighty) who wrote me last year appreciative letters anent the Raft-Rubinstein records.

The following informal words on the subject of the quintet may help subscribers to follow the music. Part 1, Allegro, commences tranquilly but there is already a thrill in the air at the third bar, whilst the passage which commences the twentysixth bar is full of suppressed excitement, working up to a piece of bold imitational writing, interrupted by a piano subito leading to a theme of indescribable beauty played by the two 'celli. The same fascinating theme is assigned to the two violins in turn, conquer his unhappiness by his sense of beauty. The combination of instruments suggests some effective grouping in twos and threes, the opening phrase, for instance, being assigned to the violin and second 'cello in unison, followed by a tutti of rich chords and exquisite modulations. These modulations are incessant, a feature in Schubert's compositions which has been often commented upon, and, in the case of the D minor Quartet, disapproved by Mendelssohn ! They are, like everything Schubert wrote, natural and spontaneous, the work of a composer of commanding genius. The last bars are included in Part 9 and followed by a bridge passage in unison leading to the Scherzo (da cape).

Parts 10, 11, and 12 are records of the Finale (Allegretto) which is throughout joyous in character though commencing in the minor (C). It is generally spoken of as being in a strain congenial to Viennese audiences, but who does not revel in dance rhythms of the nobler kind ? There is little to point out in music so obviously graceful except the filigree work assigned to the violins who have some tricky triplets to play, and some rather precarious dovetailing of little spiccato passages just before the close of Part 11. By the way, listeners without a score are warned of the general pause three bars from the end of Part 11, as the record is liable to be removed too soon. Halfway through Part 12 there is an acceleration of pace, and the work comes to a triumphal conclusion with an energetic stretto.

W. W. COBBETT.