[Cover graphic]

2 Compact Discs CDA67611
(for the price of 1)

£13.99

Haydn’s Op 9 quartets are commonly seen as his first ‘mature’ set, written during the period when he emerged as an indisputably great composer. They have an amplitude, a seriousness of intent and an increasing mastery of rhetoric and thematic development that are a world away from his earlier works. They demonstrate the dazzling inventiveness and sense of symphonic structure which characterize Haydn’s greatest works. The London Haydn Quartet perform on gut strings with classical bows, and have returned to eighteenth-century editions of the quartets, allowing them the greatest variety of interpretative possibilities.

Recorded in St Paul’s Church, Deptford, on 28–31 January and 2 February 2007
Recording Engineer
PHILIP HOBBS
Recording Producer
BEN TURNER
Front Picture Research
RICHARD HOWARD
Booklet Editor
TIM PARRY
Executive Producer
SIMON PERRY
© Hyperion Records Ltd, London, MMVII

Duration: 133'03
DDD
Front illustration: Vauxhall Gardens: The Grand Walk with the Orchestra Playing by Samuel Wale (1721–1786)

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809)

String Quartets Op 9

THE LONDON HAYDN QUARTET
CATHERINE MANSON violin
MARGARET FAULTLESS violin
JAMES BOYD viola
JONATHAN COHEN cello

Contents:

COMPACT DISC 1 [63'54]

    No 4 in D minor [20'24]
  1. Moderato [8'28]
  2. Menuetto [4'15]
  3. Cantabile adagio [3'54]
  4. Presto [3'28]

    No 1 in C major [23'37]

  5. Moderato [8'52]
  6. Menuetto — Trio [3'12]
  7. Adagio [7'15]
  8. Presto [3'59]

    No 3 in G major [19'51]

  9. Moderato [7'06]
  10. Menuetto [2'53]
  11. Largo [6'07]
  12. Presto [3'33]
COMPACT DISC 2 [69'09]
    No 2 in E flat major [23'15]
  1. Moderato [12'51]
  2. Menuetto [2'33]
  3. Adagio — Cantabile [4'26]
  4. Allegro di molto [3'02]

    No 5 in B flat major [25'59]

  5. Poco adagio [7'25]
  6. Menuetto — Allegretto [2'35]
  7. Cantabile largo [10'18]
  8. Presto [5'19]

    No 6 in A major [19'53]

  9. Presto [5'19]
  10. Menuetto [4'30]
  11. Adagio [8'29]
  12. Allegro [1'26]
Sleeve Notes

'Without a doubt one of the all-time great Haydn quartet recordings … The original instrument London Haydn Quartet play Op 9 with such deep feeling, dynamic subtlety and phrasal sensitivity that even the simplest of ideas become things of wonder. Passages of generic cadencing and decoration that often pass by unacknowledged by other ensembles sound utterly magical here, the enhanced expressive flexibility of gut strings revelled in to the full' (Classic FM Magazine *****)

'A sonority that seems brighter and less astringent than that produced by 'period' ensembles, but one that is still far closer to what we assume to be the timbre of an eighteenth-century quartet … Hyperion's sound is ideal: close, clear and free of harshness and any intrusive breathing. In short, this is an interesting and possibly controversial release, but one that shows the London Haydn Quartet to be thoughtful, provocative and technically accomplished' (International Record Review)

'I quickly warmed to the pure, glowing sound of gut strings played perfectly in tune, and to the ensemble's delicacy of nuance and sensitivity to harmonic colour, treating the listener as a privileged eavesdropper … Catherine Manson is a graceful and nimble leader … The results are delightfully witty and spirited, Recorded in the warm, sympatheic acoustic of St Paul's Deptford, these performances should win new friends for an undeservedly neglected set' (Gramophone)

'The London Haydn Quartet plays lovely period instruments in a gentle manner, emphasizing the beauty of the music - highly evocative' (Fanfare, USA)

'On this superb double disc set from Hyperion, the London Haydn Quartet's playing of the set is intense, passionate and revelatory. It is difficult to imagine finer interpretations of these occasionally formulaic but always melodically colourful works. The quartet - comprising Catherine Manson and Margaret Faultless on violin, James Boyd on viola and Jonathan Cohen on cello - play on gut strings with classical bows. There is to be found none of the reserve or prissiness that can sometimes characterise period performance. The sound here is bright, resonant and gritty, the lack of vibrato adding a spicy, piquant tang to the ensemble timbre. The bowing is confident; tempi are firm and steady, yet subtle inflections and rhythmic manipulations crank up the drama to breaking point' (MusicOHM.com)

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