The three sonatas out of a planned set of six that Debussy completed in the last years of his life are among the masterpieces of 20th-century chamber music, and it’s hard to think of a better way for the Nash Ensemble to mark their 60th anniversary than with a recording of these works, alongside Debussy’s String Quartet and an arrangement for 12 players of the Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un Faune.
While the account of the string quartet seems rather pallid alongside the best versions available on disc, the performances of the three sonatas are all outstanding: Stephanie Gonley and Alasdair Beatson play the Violin Sonata, delighting in its quicksilver changes of mood and direction; Philippa Davies, Lawrence Power and Lucy Wakeford perfectly capture the elusiveness of the work for flute, viola and harp; and Adrian Brendel and Simon Crawford-Phillips give a wonderfully forthright account of the Cello Sonata. It’s great music played with all the warmth and understanding it needs.
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