Vanbrugh Quartet (with William Butt, cello) at University Church, St. Stephen’s Green, 22 February 2015

This concert is the last of three by the Vanbrugh Quartet devoted to works by Schubert and Haydn. In last November’s concert series, the ensemble paired Schubert with Ian Wilson, an idea that had mixed results, and it is good to see them continue their engagement with Schubert in a different setting. Matching Schubert now with his predecessor Josef Haydn – and in the more sympathetic setting of the University Church – the programming certainly scores with audiences, with this afternoon’s show very well attended.

The understated opening of Haydn’s String Quartet in C comes across lightly and breezily, the inner strings’ repeated notes setting off the ‘bird-like’ gestures of the first violin. If anything, the playing style here risks being perhaps too light and underplayed in the large space, and the intonation takes a little while to settle. As the piece proceeds, however, the ensemble achieves a good balance of energy, well-focused without being too weighed-down. First violinist Gregory Ellis leads smoothly, producing an elegantly singing line. The contrasts in mood are tellingly expressed, especially in the darkly lugubrious material of the second movement (Haydn taking the normally sun-like associations of C major to unlikely depths), which is easily contrasted by the lightness of the movement’s inner ‘Trio’ section. The drily agile wit of the finale risks being a little too dry and detached, but Haydn’s wit wins through in the end with the music’s disappearing act in the closing bars.

The main attraction at this afternoon’s concert is Schubert’s String Quintet in C, a revelatory work, written in the composer’s final year, that for many is one of the finest chamber works ever written. For this, the ensemble is joined by cellist William Butt. The quintet proves a good contrast with the Haydn, as the long-breathed chordal lines of the Schubert make for a new sound-world after the earlier work’s conversational interplay. Once again, though, less-than-ideal intonation at the start is worrying, reflecting perhaps the technical challenges set by the work. As the dramatic opening movement proceeds, an edgy congeniality comes through with Butt’s second cello adding extra richness and pungency to the ensemble. The deep introspection of the slow second movement receives a good account, with the exchange between Ellis and Butt at top and bottom of the texture mediated by the atmosphere sustained by the three inner voices. There is real urgency in the playing, especially in the vivid contrast of the ‘storm’ section that breaks up this movement. The players bring an authentically brusque swagger to the scherzo that follows, while the finale opens jauntily before being scaled back beautifully in the alternating quiet sections before the piece rises to its rapid close. The Vanbrugh Quartet bring this great work to life with drama and verve, easily outweighing initial concerns, and the audience respond mightily.

Programme:

Josef Haydn: String Quartet in C major, Op. 33 No. 3, ‘The Bird’

Franz Schubert: String Quintet in C major, D956