Latvian Contemporary composer Peteris Vasks [born 1946] has written at least five string quartets.
The Fourth Quartet is in five movements and is quite a long work. A spiritual nature can be heard in movements 1, 3 and 5, while the second and fourth movements are more secular sounding.
Elegy begins with a single violin line, accompanied by several pizzicato plucks. A second violin joins in and a gentle harmony follows, leading to a prayer-like texture, with many trills. This texture is developed throughout the movement. I am hearing a sound similar to John Tavener’s epic The Protecting Veil, although this came later. Beautiful harmonies are the order of the day and I should mention that much of the music is barely audible – I had to remaster it to uncover its nature. As the music progresses, the atmosphere intensifies only to cut to a pause, which introduces the basic musical premise of the piece, which is introspective. This beautiful movement ends abruptly.
Toccata I could not be more contrasting. Jabbing chords and a raw ensemble accompaniment set up a deliberate tempo in a frantic manner. The violins cut and thrust through a powerful passage; there is no relief to be found here. Finally, the music stops its acceleration and breaks into some quivering violin lines, which have a similar nature to the preceding movement.
Choral starts where Toccata I left off, with much peace. This almost wistful mood is very satisfying with harmonised violins giving way to a cello accompaniment. Again, it is inward-looking with its minimal changes in harmony still allowing it to produce strong, harmonised melodies. Now a section of uncertain tonality commences and the violins spin out sustained, conflicting phrases. A pause leads back to the default feeling and the violins unite in a new way, filled with sustained phrases. Another pause brings a sound of pure spirituality, with a faded ending.
Toccata II commences with jerky, rhythmic violin lines and a turgid accompaniment. The instruments positively grate in this intensely rhythmic music. After a time the tempo is halved, and the intensity drops accordingly, only to arc up again. A recapitulation of the opening follows and another solid tempo is established. Some exciting glissandi lead back into the pulsing chords to conclude.
Meditation is by far the longest movement. Tempered violin lines combine with sustained tones, and a little glissandi. This is followed by violins gently pushing the cello, which is rich in its sonority. Now the violins return to lead the music again and the whole ensemble are as one in this stately mood. Gradually, the violins reach for the sky in their upper registers – there is something for everyone in this music! A pause introduces a new, more stable mood where the violins drift almost aimlessly with an occasional glissando adding character. A sense of stasis is the result as the music just is.
Now the violin has returned to its upper register, then floats down to earth again. Two violins drift over a viola ostinato. A further pause brings with it another gentle mood, one in which the musical nature is that of an accompaniment, with little melodic activity. Finally a glissando violin leads to a chord which fades.
The work lasts 34 minutes in this version, and my one criticism would be that some of the passages go on for too long. On the other hand, there is some remarkable beauty to be found here.
The review CD, String Quartets 1, 3 & 4 by the– Spikeru Quartet on the Wergo label is not readily available but can still be obtained from Amazon resellers and as an MP3 download.
This CD can be sampled on Spotify, earsense and YouTube.
Listenability: A fine spiritually inclined work.