Uncovered, Vol. 1: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Album review

With this release, the Catalyst Quartet launches the "Uncovered" series, devoted to unjustly neglected works by Black composers. The group begins with Afro-British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912), who a century ago would probably have been the best known of the group, with his cantatas on Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha widely performed and supported by the British musical establishment. Coleridge-Taylor's chamber music dates from early in his career before he traveled to the U.S. and began to investigate his African American roots, and to a degree, the works here have the flavor of student compositions, most of all the opening Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 1. All of the pieces show Dvořák as a model, and the most persuasive is the set of Five Fantasiestücke for string quartet, Op. 5, adept and thoroughly enjoyable extensions of the fantastic element in the Czech composer's music. The music certainly makes one regret Coleridge-Taylor's early death, probably the result of financial difficulties, and it also whets the appetite for future releases in the Catalyst's series; the performances, especially by clarinetist Anthony McGill in the Clarinet Quintet in F sharp minor, Op. 10, are very strong. The Clarinet Quintet also shows the influence of Brahms, whom Coleridge-Taylor's teacher, Charles Villiers Stanford, challenged him to emulate and even exceed ("You've done it, me boy!" Stanford exclaimed for his part). Azica errs with a rather harsh college concert hall sound, but this release more than accomplishes what it sets out to do. Volume 2 will be devoted to Florence Price, a composer in dire need of wider exposure.

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