“The most precociously gifted composer the world has ever known.” Annotator Julian Haylock justifiably celebrates a musical talent “which was almost inexhaustible in terms of promise and potential”, though, generally speaking, Mendelssohn’s terms of inspirational reference were more in the realms of sweet remembrances and elfin delights than among deeper climes or lingering shadows.
These two quintets – both of them masterpieces – emanate from opposite ends of Mendelssohn’s career, Op. 18 being very much of a piece with the Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, while Op. 87 presents more in the way of ardent lyricism (Toscanini programmed the Adagio e lento in a full-strings transcription).
The Raphael Ensemble’s smoothly mellifluous performances fall into direct competition with the rather more formal Berlin String Quintet performances on Dabringhaus und Grimm and the more intensely expressive 1970s Sony recordings led by Jaime Laredo. The Raphael’s ecstatic involvement is tellingly exemplified 9'40'' into the first movement of Op. 18, where converging string lines set up some gloriously full textures, whereas the Scherzo’s contrapuntal scurryings inspire quiet-voiced virtuosity.
Both performances convey the shimmer and bustle of Mendelssohn’s string writing without forcing the issue, and the June 1997 recordings (Brandon Hill, Bristol) are well-nigh ideal.
As to comparisons, the Raphael scores for imagination, tonal integration and musicality. Like the Berliners, they honour Op. 18’s substantial first-movement repeat, but neither group quite matches Laredo’s rapt encounter with Op. 87’s Adagio e lento (10'12'' to compare with the Raphael’s 9'45'' and the Berlin String Quintet’s 8'56'', and a more ‘old-fashioned’ – vibrato-laden – approach than either). Of course tempo isn’t everything, but in this instance it does tend to signify that extra degree of emotional commitment. In most other respects, however, the Raphaels pip their rivals to the post and will provide discerning readers with a rich yield of musical pleasure. '