Debussy & Ravel String Quartets - Classical Music CD for Relaxation, Study & Dinner Parties | Perfect for Music Lovers & Audiophiles

I did not need another recording of these quartets; I had plenty. Nevertheless, a solid review in Fanfare, and a long-favorable impression of the excellent quality of Harmonia Mundi recordings conspired to cause me to press the right buttons, and a few days later, there it was on my porch...and not in the usual plastic case, but in a somewhat snazzy box that, I discovered, matches the other Harmonia Mundi CDs celebrating the centenary of Debussy's passing.Others have remarked on the superb quality of the newer generation of string quartet players and playing. I've heard that, and marveled at it, yet sometimes wonder if that hasn't led us into a competition of excessive dramatics and ferocity. Or maybe I'm just getting older and more inclined to skip the heroics in favor of getting lost in a mellifluous cloud of richness of tonality.The Jerusalem Quartet gives me a lot of what I want in terms of tonal richness, and they are not at all hesitant about luxuriating where it makes sense. Yet they clearly have tremendous technical precision and speed where called for. They just don't overdo it. They go for an almost orchestral fullness rather than a lean tone, overall, and the players have the full bodied richness of tone to pull that off. This is announced at the outset of the Debussy quartet, where the initial statement is played with a rich sonority in which the chords sound fully, rather than with excessive emphasis or quickness. I found it a delightful, almost studied casualness, as if to say, "no steamrollers here; we're just going to play some music for you...but REALLY well and beautifully."That really worked for me all the way through. And the sound is excellent. Close in, but not overbearing. All as Harmonia Mundi has done so well over the years. I will be playing this with some regularity. Five stars.