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05/04/2026
“UNCOVERED: Volume IV”
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint‑Georges: Six Concertante Quartets: n° 1 in B‑Flat major, n° 2 in G minor, n° 3 in C major, n° 4 in F major, n° 5 in G major & n° 6 in B‑Flat major [1] – String Quartets, opus 14: n° 1 in D major, n° 2 in B‑Flat major, n° 3 in F minor, n° 4 in G major, n° 5 in E‑Flat major & n° 6 in G minor [2] – String Quartets, opus 1: n° 1 in C major, n° 2 in E‑Flat major, n° 3 in G minor, n° 4 in C minor, n° 5 in G minor & n° 6 in D major [2]
Catalyst Quartet: Karla Donehew Perez, Abi Fayette (violin), Paul Laraia (viola), Karlos Rodriguez (cello)
Recording: Purchase College, Purchase, New York (June 2024) [1] and Drew University, Madison, New Jersey (June 2025) [2] – 149’44
Azica Records ACD-71394
 
I’m not sure why the composer labeled the first six quartets here (actually written somewhat later than Opus 1) “Concertante”: they are not inordinately dominated by the first violin or full of dazzling virtuosic solo passages. There’s some rather nice writing for the cello here and there, in fact. But these are light works, each coming in under ten minutes, although most feature a first movement in sonata form. This is pleasant and assured style galant, not burdened by too many memorable ideas. Sazint‑Georges is much too prone to note‑spinning and thinly disguised scales to count as a major composer, I think, but these defects are less of a liability in what are effectively extended miniatures. I recall a live performance of a rather longer concerto by the same composer that lost my interest well before the twenty‑something minutes were up.
The rest of the program recorded here is a bit more substantial, although each quartet is still in only two movements, most of them rather longer now. (In spite of the continued use of sonata-allegro form in opening movements, this is not what Haydn and Mozart conditioned us to expect from the Classical string quartet; there is very little slow music, let alone poignance.) The first entry in Opus 14 n° 1 starts promisingly enough: the first movement sports fine if hardly brilliant basic material and a respectably engaging development section. Too bad the theme-and-variations that follows is mostly anodyne. The rest of Opus 14 follows this pattern, as does Opus 1: striking and anonymous by turns. In spite of some inspired moments—the “Allegro” in n° 5, turns impressively spooky at times—everything more or less blurs together. Some promising bits of canonic imitation in the first movement of Opus 1 n° 6 don’t really go anywhere.
Any neglected composer, however, could hardly wish for better advocacy than what the Catalyst Quartet provides here. Tightness of ensemble, warmth of tone, singing phrasing, and careful attention to dynamics emphasize the music’s good points and help make for an enjoyable listen. Even so, Saint-Georges’ reputation is not best served by an omnibus edition like this. The lack of real expressive variety and memorable ideas grows tiresome. Some of these pieces could make effective curtain‑raisers, but too much of the two-and-a-half hours of music here is simply pleasant at best.
Samuel Wigutow
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