What amazes me even more is how each piece is completely unique; each movement completely individual. And how one man can compose an hour’s worth of music which is absolutely, thoroughly original – endlessly beguiling, captivating, fascinating and mesmerizing from beginning to end – that it sounds absolutely like no one else’s on the planet. There is nothing to compare it to. It is, simply, Joseph Phibbs. It can be by no one else, despite BBC Music magazine’s assertion it “owes an unabashed debt to Britten”, which I just don’t hear.
The Second Quartet is ethereal and rhythmically propulsive at the same time. An extraordinary feat. It opens with a restless Presto in the highest registers, followed by an agitated Molto allegro in the midrange, which is entirely contrasting. A guitar-like Interlude (Chitarra) leads to a very moving, tonal (in nearly every sense), melancholy lament in the final Lento.
The Third is much more substantial, nearly twice as long as its companions on either side, clocking in at nearly 25 minutes in length. It exhibits an even more striking variety of mood – pensive at first, then furiously energetic, but singing (rather tunefully, actually) for much of the remainder. Some subtle blues riffs even make a surprising appearance in the delightful Corrente (4th movement). Absolutely marvelous. A brief, exuberant Allegro finishes off the finale’s Andante. The piece is captivating, keeping the listener transfixed with intrigue and wonderment from beginning to end.
The 4th is a bit different. Here we have 5 short, capricious sections with programmatic titles assigned to each, beginning with a rhythmically animated “Film Sequence”, then a whimsical Notturno (which, for the very first time, evokes another composer – just a hint of Caroline Shaw’s familiar Entr’acte, but without the gimmickry.) A solemn cello introduces the Cantilena, soon followed by a sophisticated Burlesque, and concludes with an otherworldly Passacaglia. What endlessly fascinating music this is.
At a loss to come up with any composers whose soundworld can be likened to that of these string quartets, John Zorn and Jorg Widmann briefly come to mind – but they really can’t compare. These two composers are much more similar to each other than they are to Joseph Phibbs. Phibbs is in a world of his own, completely unique in his ingenious creativity – more structured, more melodious, and certainly less reliant on shock value than the others mentioned. His is an eloquent, slightly more refined innovation. Never outrageous, it’s just pure music. That’s the best way I can describe it.
I first became aware of this amazing composer via his terrific Clarinet Concerto on a 2019 Signum Records recording (previously reviewed here on my blog). I then explored further and discovered his (2014) 1st String Quartet, also recorded by the Piatti Quartet, on a 2018 Champs Hill CD. It is fascinatingly different from the newly composed 2nd, 3rd and 4th String Quartets presented here on the RTF Classical label, distributed by Nimbus Alliance. (RTF is a record label owned by the Richard Thomas Foundation [RTF], which, along with the Piatti Quartet, also commissioned the 4th quartet recorded here.) The recorded sound is superb. My only wish is that RTF could have somehow procured the recording rights for the previously recorded 1st Quartet and included it on this release as well. There would have been just enough room for it on the CD, and how marvelous it would have been to have all 4 on one disc.
It’s rare to hear something completely new that is so completely satisfying. I’ve listened to the entire CD three times already and I continue to hear something new and wonderful each and every time. Anyone who is at all interested in contemporary string quartet music, and/or the art of string quartet playing, must absolutely hear this recording. I have several favorite string quartets whose recordings I extol all the time, but the Piatti Quartet is surely one of the very best – ever. Their playing of these string quartets is beyond awesome; it is simply out of this world.
