Novoselye - Houswarming

A disc fully devoted to the unusual string octet repertoire. A well-known masterpiece, Mendelssohn's Octet, is coupled to a world-premiere recording of a Russian late Romantic remarkable work: Afanasyev's Double Quartet. As a precious fill-up: Shostakovich's Prelude and Scherzo, a youthful piece that already displays the composer's original genius.

Many forgotten compositions for string octet are still waiting to be rediscovered in the music archives. One such work is the rarely performed and, until now, previously unrecorded double quartet Novoselye (House-warming) by the Russian violinist and composer Nikolay Afanasyev (1821-1898). While hardly anyone knows his name today, that in no way detracts from the quality of his music. The double quartet was premiered in St Petersburg in 1886. It is clearly a work by a talented composer with a vast knowledge of string instruments, one who is not averse to a polyphonic style. The composition is especially rich in musical innovation with an abundance of tuneful, folk-like melodies and a hint of melancholy, which lends an unmistakable Russianness to the slow movement.