CD, стоящие на полке рядом : Classics (Reconstruction)      

Of all the great but now lesser known musical figures of the so-called "transitional" period in France, between the Enlightenment and Romanticism, Gossec was one of the most inventive and eclectic. His quartets, among the earliest example of the genre in France, are personal in style and differ noticeably from the Viennese-type quartets.

Quatuor Ad Fontes:

Alice Pierot, violon

Enrico Parizzi, violon

Monica Ehrsam, alto

Reto Cuonz, violoncelle

Enregistre en janvier 2002 a Paris a la chapelle de l'hopital Notre-Dame de Bon Secours

=====

Believe it or not, Francois-Joseph Gossec was the French musical equivalent of Haydn and Beethoven. Under the ancient regime, Gossec established single-handedly the primacy of the string quartet and the symphony in French instrumental music and under the Empire, Gossec created a revolutionary form of massed public music pre-dating Beethoven's Ninth.

Find that hard to believe? Try this disc of Gossec's six quartets by the Quatuor Ad Fontes. Composed in the early 1770s contemporaneously with the quartets of Haydn's first maturity, Gossec's quartets are decidedly different from but no less convincing than Haydn's. They are all in two unequal movements, sometimes an expressive Larghetto paired with a lively Englese, sometimes a robust Allegretto coupled with an elegant Tempo di Menuetto. The Quatuor Ad Fontes has a warm tone and a comfortable technique and its dedication to the music is unquestionable. Alpha's sound is deep and clear and the packaging is rich and detailed. This is an ideal recording for anyone who already knows and loves the string quartets of Haydn and it is a fine introduction to the music of Gossec.

- James Leonard

All Music Guide