Dvorak's Quintet dates from the same time as his American Quartet, when he was staying happily surrounded though touched by his deep nostalgia, at Spilville in lowa. The Quintet was indeed, also sometimes in the past known as American, perhaps because of the circumstances but also for the probable influence on the music of the singing and dancing of a group of Indians who came to sell herbs to Dvorak's Czech hosts. The piece is too little known: though it does not possess quite the tuneful ease of the more famous quartet, there is music in similar vein here, given a new dimension by the addition of an extra viola. Mozart found great additional warmth and interest made available with the added instrument: Dvorak does not, on the whole, follow Mozartian devices but allows the two instruments greater separation and individuality though he also enjoys the enriched textures. The Scherzo is a brilliantly lively movement that well balances the blithe lyricism of the opening Allegro non tanto and Dvorak makes marvellously skilful, charming use of his opportunites in a set of variations in the unlikely key of A flat minor.
The Sextet, which belongs to an earlier phase of the composer's career, is less texturally adventurous but none the less tuneful and refreshing, it retains a good deal of the mood and atmosphere of the recently composed Slavonic Dances, and indeed includes a beautiful Allegretto Dumka. These are delightful works, delightfully played with a nice sense of their relaxed and undemanding nature; only occasionally do shadows cross the music, which is essentially for recreation. The recording, too, is friendly: close and clear.'