Jupiter String Quartet & Bernadette Harvey - Alchemy (2019)

This new release by Marquis features chamber works by three distinguished contemporary composers in excellent performances. The title, Alchemy, suggests a spiritual journey of purification, mysterious sounds and shimmering colours — something that can be argued to be true for the works featured here. It should be noted that all works were commissioned by the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music and all of them, apart from Secret Alchemy, are world premiere recordings.

The album begins with the impressive Piano Quintet by American composer Pierre Jalbert, composed in 2017. It is an ambitious work cast in four movements. The first movement called Mannheim Rocket starts off with a bold statement, where a musical figure keeps speeding up until it reaches static-sounding string harmonies (I could describe the effect that is evoked like that of a rapid charge and discharge of a vessel in motion). The Kyrie that follows is, as one would expect, a chant-like movement, almost lamenting in nature, with some amazing hypnotic pianissimo sections. This is followed by a scherzo with a playful, virtuosic interaction between piano and strings. The final movement, called Pulse, is a fast tour de force giving the impression of a never-ending energetic frenzy, despite brief thematic intermissions.

The second work featured on this album is the Piano Quartet (2005) by another American composer, Steven Stucky. It is a piece that consists of many different sections within its one-movement structure which manages to sustain a cohesive whole. What is impressive in this piece is the overall condensed structure. The adagio parts, in particular, with their bell-like qualities and piano trills are particularly beautiful, evocative of nocturnal episodes. And while the music often seems to come to a standstill with near-impressionistic effects, it is often awoken by the juxtaposition of jagged, jazzy rhythms.

An Australian composer is also featured on this release, namely Carl Vine with his Fantasia for Piano Quintet (2013), and what is possibly the most accessible piece on the album. The composer states that he set out to create a formal structure which gradually became more fluid. And while the quintet features many different instrumental combinations between strings and piano, it is when all instruments come together that the lush quality of the score is revealed. This is a work with discernible melodic lines that is both substantial and highly rewarding.