FLOR ALPAERTS (1876-1954): String Quartet No. 4 in E Flat, JACQUES HÉTU (1938-2010): String Quartet No. 2, Op. 50, JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897): Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115.

Description: Alpaerts' Fourth Quartet is a late work, less indebted to impressionism or expressionism than his earlier style, opting instead for a conventional neo-classical four movement structure with somewhat astringent tonal harmony in a neo-romantic idiom. Hétu's quartet is in three movements, a traditional, classical structure. The language is tonal, and the mood of the outer movements predominantly melancholy, with distinct echoes of Shostakovich - far more so than of Hétu's teachers, Dutilleux and Messiaen. The central scherzo is scurrying and energetic, with a sardonic waltz as a second subject and a brief mournful adagio in the mood of the outer movements instead of a trio. The Brahms Clarinet Quintet is of interest in that it is performed here as a string quintet incorporating the seldom-heard baritone violin. Saint John String Quartet, Jacques Dupriez (clarinet).