Signum Quartett’s The Earth Trembled, with quartets, songs and fragments by Janáček and Vítězslava Kaprálová, has been awarded five stars by The Classical Source.
The review praises how the quartet “create defined, transparent textures”, partly through their use of variable vibrato, and finds them able “to read the composer’s extraordinary syntax”, rooted in his intimate knowledge of the Czech language. It highlights their sense of just how operatic much of Janáček’s writing is, and their “unusual lightness of touch”, which makes every tempo change sound natural. Kaprálová’s String Quartet, Op. 8, described as “an accomplished piece”, is played with the same skill and conviction as the Janáček. The reviewer also welcomes the album’s generous running time.
The Earth Trembled was released on 4 september and frames Janáček’s two string quartets and Kaprálová’s Op. 8 with arrangements of Moravian folk songs, Tolstoy’s Waltz in F major and fragments from Janáček’s Album for Kamila Stösslová.
Read the full review on The Classical Source.