Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805): Six String Quartets Op.

26 G 195-200

Brilliant Classics (2016)

Tracklist

1. Quartetto in B flat major G.195: Allegro Moderato

2. Quartetto in B flat major G.195: Minuetto con moto Trio
3. Quartetto in G minor G.196: Larghetto
4. Quartetto in G minor G.196: Minuetto - Trio
5. Quartetto in E flat major G.197: Allegro vivace
6. Quartetto in E flat major G.197: Minuetto Trio
7. Quartetto in A major G.198: Larghetto
8. Quartetto in A major G.198: Minuetto con moto Trio-
9. Quartetto in F major G.199: Allegretto
10. Quartetto in F major G.199: Minuetto allegro - Trio
11. Quartetto in F minor G.200: Andante appassionato ma non lento
12. Quartetto in F minor G.200: Minuetto Trio

Awards Received

Click de Fvrier 2016 on Classique News (www.classiquenews.com)

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Luigi Boccherini: Six String Quartets G.195-200

The Italian violoncello virtuoso and composer Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) wrote the six string
quartets G.195-200 during the years he spent at Las Arenas, near Madrid, as part of the entourage of
the Infante Don Luis (1727-1785). The Infante was the brother of the King of Spain Charles III.
Boccherini remained in service of Don Luis as compositore and virtuoso di camera from 1770 to the death of
the Infante, in 1785. During this period, Boccherini was required to compose three sets of six pieces
each every year (generally string trios, quartets or quintets). Boccherini maintained a catalogue of his
own works, which unfortunately was lost during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Louis Picquot
(1804-1870) had a chance to copy and publish it in 1851 in his book Notice sur la vie et les ouvrages de Luigi
Boccherini suivie du Catalogue raisonn. In his own catalogue, Boccherini identified Op. 26 with the third
group of compositions for the year 1778, which included the quartets G.195-200. Unfortunately, we do
not know any extant autograph manuscript of this music. In a letter written to the editor Artaria in
1780, Boccherini answered to a proposal of publication by offering this set, along with several of other
works: in the letter, the author described this group of quartettini as Op. 32. This change of opus
number could have been motivated by the deliberate attempt to make these works appear as recently
composed, or by a reorganization of the catalogue. Eventually, former Op. 26 made its first public
appearance in Wien in 1781, published by Artaria as Op. 32. This new opus number clashes with the
Op. 32 already listed in Boccherinis own catalogue, correspondent to a set of string quartets Opera
grande in four movements (except quartet n. 3, in three movements), now catalogued as G.201-206: this
set was also published by Artaria in 1781, as Op. 33. Even more puzzling, the set of quartets Op. 22
(G.183-188) was published in Paris by La Chevardiere as Op. 26. The Quartetto della Scala, probably
relying on La Chevardiere edition, recorded the G-183-188 quartets some forty years ago, advertising
them as Op. 26 (Durium, MaAL 80006, 1974). In this little forest of dates and opus numbers, the only
information we can rely on beyond any ambiguity is the catalogue number G.195-200, assigned by Yves
Grard to the compositions here presented.

This album is the first integral recording of this set by a string quartet; nonetheless, this is not a world
premire for these compositions. Along with the publications of the three known editions (as Op. 32)
by Artaria (Wien, 1781), Schmid (Amsterdam, c. 1785?) and Le Duc (Paris, c. 1790), two manuscripts,
based on these quartets, were prepared by an unknown piano enthusiast. One set is an arrangement for
two keyboards (G.76), and the second is an arrangement for keyboard and string trio (G.259): both
versions were probably copied by the same hand. These works originated in the end of 18th Century,
during the last part of the regency of the Elector of Saxony Friedrich August (1763-1806), who owned
(and perhaps commissioned) several others, all of them preserved at the Schsische Landesbibliothek of
Dresden.

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The arrangements of G.195-200 received specific attention in recent years, as proved by the appearance
of three recordings. The version for two keyboards G.76 was published in an adaptation for two
harpsichords (W. Christie and C. Rousset; Harmonia Mundi, HMA 1951233, 1985), and also for piano
duo (A. Clemente and S. Piolanti; Tactus, TC 740209, 2011). The arrangement G.259, entitled Six
Quatuors pour le clavecin ou pianoforte, violon, viola et basse oblig composs par Luigi Boccherini, was recorded by
the Spanish ensemble La Real Cmara (A. Schoonderwoerd, E. Moreno, A. Clares, M. Ruiz; Glossa,
GDC 920312, 2012). The fine renditions of these two intriguing arrangements aroused our curiosity,
and we were surprised to discover that there was no available recording of the original string quartet
setting, which represented the Composers original idea (nevertheless, some of these quartets appeared
separately in collections of other Boccherinis works). During the editing process and the rehearsals,
curiosity became astonishment and finally turned into a gratifying sense of serendipity. Despite the
numerous publications regarding Boccherini and the intense ongoing research activity dedicated to his
life and works, the presence of Boccherinis music in the concert programs is still marginal.

Quartets G.195-200 are included in the group of works that Boccherini named as Opera piccola, which
literally means small work. Boccherini composed 46 quartettini, organized in nine sets starting with
Op.15 (G.177-182), and followed by Op. 22 (G.183-188, mentioned before in relation to the Quartetto
della Scalas 1974 recording), Op. 26 (G.195-200), Op. 33 (G.207-212), Op. 42 (G.216-217), Op. 43
(G.218-219), Op. 44 (G.220-225), Op. 48 (G.226-231), and Op. 53 (G.236-241). The two-movement
quartets represent about fifty percent of Boccherinis whole string quartet production, which consists
of 91 quartets; the remaining half is represented by the Opera grande works, shared between a minority
of 12 four-movement quartets, and further 33 quartets in three movements. The size of the Opera piccola
works G.195-200 is indeed relatively small, with a structure composed of two movements: a first
movement in forma sonata invariably followed by a Minuetto with its Trio. The tempo indications
range from Larghetto to Allegro vivace. By grouping the quartets two by two in three blocks, it is possible
to observe a macro-structure within the whole set, with a triple alternation of a scheme of fast-
(menuet+trio)-slow-(menuet+trio). In the first block, the Allegro Moderato in G.195 is followed by a
12/8 Larghetto of G.196. Interestingly, the fastest movement (the 4/4 Allegro vivace which opens G.197)
is placed in the central block, almost in the middle of the whole set, and could be considered a point of
climax. This climax gradually fades through the following Larghetto (G.198), towards the last block of
the set, formed by the Allegretto (G.199) and the gloomy and pre-romantic Andante appassionato ma non
lento (G.200).

The choice of dividing his chamber works between Opera grande and Opera piccola was mainly intended
for publishing purposes, as small sets were cheaper to engrave and to print, and certainly easier to sell.
This distinction could lead to think that the small works were of minor importance, and deemed

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inferior by the author himself, but it is quite the contrary: the reduced size of the pieces forced
Boccherini to insert a number of precious details, which denote a paramount attention to rhythmic
inlays and to timbre. Boccherini himself wrote in the aforementioned letter to Artaria that the only
difference between the Opera grande and piccola was the number of movements, adding that tutto panno
dellistessa pezza [it is all cloth of the same piece]. The set G.195-200 represents indeed a bright
example of what the expression chamber music actually meant in the late 18th Century. As redundant
and obvious as it might sound, it is worth underlining here that, at least until the turn of the century,
chamber music was not destined for great concert halls, nor for a large audience. String quartets (in
particular the ones composed by Italian authors) were mainly conceived for small venues, where the
players and few more selected people could enjoy a private musical entertainment, possibly while
playing cards. For Boccherini the main audience was represented by Don Luiss family, reunited in a
room of a royal residence; most likely a little crowd, similar to the one eternalized by Francisco Goya in
the painting The Family of the Infante Don Luis (1784).

Boccherini deploys an abundance of subtle colour nuances, with a sound palette generally shifted
towards the soft side by a peculiar vocabulary of agogic terms such as dolce and dolcissimo (sweet, very
sweet), sottovoce (whispering), soave (mellow), mezza voce (under ones breath). All the six quartets
invariably begin with soft indications. The strong moments, enlightened by a forte or by the rarer
fortissimo, are generally sudden and short; they seem aimed at awakening a distracted listener, but taking
care not to disturb an ongoing conversation for too long. There is a frequent use of the terms rinf
(rinforzato or rinforzando) and pf (poco forte), which are quite common in Boccherinis works, but are not
often found in works of contemporary composers. The two terms seems to be interchangeable, and
indicate an increase in the musical intensity, not necessarily requiring a higher dynamic level. The
indication rinf is described by Galeazzi as a crescendo from the piano to the forte, followed by a diminuendo
(Elementi teorico-pratici di Musica, Ascoli: Francesco Cardi, 1817, 34). Galeazzis definition seems reductive
for these Boccherini quartets, as in several occasions the rinf leads to a written out forte section,
requiring just a crescendo, while in other occasions it refers to a single note, and therefore could be
better expressed by a short and smooth accent. These moments can be also stressed by a change in the
speed of the bow, by the use of vibrato as an ornament. Finally, they could just be naturally inlaid in the
music, in form of a passing dissonance or as a written out appoggiatura: in this last case, the dynamic
indication merely acts as a signal for the performer to become aware of the expressive spot in his own
part. The function of dynamics as warning signs can be observed in the alternative use of the terms
piano and dolce: while they often appear simultaneously in the four staves, the latter is generally given to
the part that is in charge of the melodic material, or which has a short prominent part.

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The use of syncopated rhythms is frequent, and causes unexpected movements of the accents within
the bars hierarchy in order to evocate Spanish dances and folk atmospheres: this is particularly evident
in the Trio of Quartet G.200. This Trio, the last movement of the whole set, contains a short fandango.
Slurs often suggest a melodic portato, as can be observed in the beginning of the Allegro moderato in
G.195: here, the anacrusis in the first violin part is smoothened by the presence of a slur between the
upbeat and the following downbeat. The accompaniment is frequently characterized by wavy lines
placed over repeated notes, as to require a frequent use of bow vibrato: this effect is an idiomatic tone
colour of stringed instruments, hence not fully reproducible by the keyboard instruments with plucked
or struck strings, used for the arrangements.

For this recording, the reference pitch was A=436 Hz, following the proposal that the musician and
theorist Giuseppe Sarti (1729-1802) made in St. Petersburg in 1796 (for further reference: Pietro
Barbieri, Giuseppe Sarti, fisico acustico e teorico musicale, in Giuseppe Sarti musicista faentino. Modena:
Mucchi Editore, 1986).

Simone Laghi, 2015

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Igor Cantarelli, violin I
Gian Andrea Guerra, violin II
Simone Laghi, viola
Gregorio Buti, violoncello

Ensemble Symposium is a musical collective of professional performers with a strong interest in

historical performance practice. Our aim is to create a link between musicological research and active
performance through a series of projects that will make the scores available in modern notation for
amateur and professional players, providing at the same time high quality premire recordings. Founded
in 2012 by Simone Laghi in Faenza (Italy), its activity began with the publication of G. P. Telemanns
Scherzi Melodichi, a collection of seven trio sonatas for violin, viola and continuo (Brilliant Classics
94330) and the relative score (Edizioni Pian e Forte, Milano). Their second recording (Brilliant Classics
95037) was the world premire of the Six String Quartets by Bartolomeo Campagnoli (1751-1827), which
received a mention as Cd of the Month in January 2015 by the website CdClassico.com. A critical
edition of Campagnolis six string quartets, prepared by Simone Laghi, is under publication by A-R
Editions (USA).

www.ensemblesymposium.it
info@ensemblesymposium.it
Twitter: @enssymposium

Recorded: 5, 6 and 7 August 2015, Badia di San Michele Cavana - Lesignano de' Bagni (PR), Italy

Producer: Fabio Framba

Recording & Editing: Fabio Framba

Cover: The Family of the Infante Don Luis, by Francisco Goya (1784)
Fondazione Magnani Rocca, Traversetolo (Parma, Italy) www.magnanirocca.it

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