Written at the astonishing age of only 16 years,
Mendelssohn's Octet, Op. 20, retains its place as one of his finest chamber music achievements, one for which there was no prior model. Though scored like a double quartet, each of the Octet's eight parts retains a level of independence making the work more like a nimble, interactive string symphony. Following this lead,
Mendelssohn's devotee and eventual successor at the
Gewandhaus Orchestra Niels Gade tried his hand at following
Mendelssohn's example. Published some 23 years after
Mendelssohn's octet, Gade's example typifies the more elaborate, dense harmony of the time. Well-received when written, Gade's Octet has not retained the same level of devotion as
Mendelssohn's. Both Octets are performed on this Divox album by the Ensemble Tiramisu. Other than the opportunity to hear Gade's infrequently recorded score, this disc regrettably has little to offer.
Tiramisu tries to reach too far with many aspects of their playing and fails to deliver. Most notably, the ensemble pushes tempos much too fast without the requisite skills to make sure that the group retains cohesion. The result is playing that is often sloppy, frantic, and inarticulate. Intonation also suffers as a result of this careless approach to
Mendelssohn and Gade's music. Balance almost exclusively favors the first violin, negating the equality and independence of parts that both composers had in mind.