Catalyst Quartet: UNCOVERED Vol. 1: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Azica Records

In this first of a projected three-volume series, Catalyst Quartet (violinists Karla Donehew Perez and Jessie Montgomery, violist Paul Laraia, cellist Karlos Rodriguez) performs three works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912), an Afro-British composer who, despite achieving great success in his lifetime (his three cantatas on Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha in particular), is hardly a household name today. As Laraia notes, “He was fascinated by the musical traditions of the American Spiritual, and sought to incorporate them into the classical tradition in the manner of Brahms with Hungarian music and Dvorák with Bohemian music.” Not surprisingly, evidence of that fascination is clearly audible on the release, which the quartet recorded at Sauder Concert Hall in Goshen, Indiana in July 2019.

Coleridge-Taylor's story dovetails neatly with the UNCOVERED project, which was created to celebrate works by artists whose names have undeservedly faded, largely because of race and/or gender. To that end, the second volume will feature works by Florence Price and the third Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, William Grant Still, George Walker, and others. The excellently crafted material on the first volume is so enticing, one can't help but wonder how music of such appeal could have lapsed into obscurity. One reason, of course, is simply because recordings and performances of Coleridge-Taylor's works are rare if even available, and Catalyst Quartet is therefore doing its part to rescue his tonal music from the dustbin of history.

Adding to the recording's appeal, the string quartet piece, Fantasiestücke Op. 5 (1895), is framed by two quintet works, the Quintet in G minor for Piano and Strings (1893) and the Quintet in F sharp minor for Clarinet and Strings (1906), with pianist Stewart Goodyear joining Catalyst on the former and clarinetist Anthony McGill the latter. The four-movement piano quintet engages from the first moment when sensual melodies course through the stately “Allegro con moto,” the composer also demonstrating a lyrical bent and affinity for folk themes. Melody is as alluringly handled in the “Larghetto” when it follows Rodriguez's expressive voicing of a melancholy motif with flowing passages of dramatic counterpoint. The “Scherzo” is as spirited as expected, while the concluding “Allegro molto” is effervescent and rousing. Throughout the twenty-six-minute piece, Goodyear and Catalyst show themselves to be splendid collaborators as they give nuanced voice to Coleridge-Taylor's material.

Fantasiestücke unfolds in five largely succinct parts, with the piece granting the quartet, together since 2010, an ideal opportunity to showcase its refined sound and rapport. Again the composer's ear for melody is front and centre, from the luscious “Prelude” and endearing “Serenade” to the sprightly “Humoresque,” graceful “Minuet & Trio,” and infectious “Dance.” Replicating the four-part structure of the opening work, the clarinet quintet is as striking in its conjoining of a non-string instrument to the quartet. McGill, the principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, is as effective as Goodyear in his performance, with his woodwind a mellifluent partner to the strings. While the spirited allegro, scherzo, and finale leave respectively strong marks, it's the plaintive “Larghetto affettuoso” that most stands out for its pastoral character and serene tone.

March 2021