O schöne Nacht
Damask’s debut album gathers quartets and solo piano pieces by late-19th-century composers, unified by the theme of night. At its centre are three complete quartet cycles by Johannes Brahms — Op. 31, Op. 92 and Op. 112 — including favourites such as the title track and Der Gang zum Liebchen.
These are set alongside striking, far less familiar works by three of Brahms’s contemporaries: Heinrich von Herzogenberg, whose four Notturnos, Op. 22 are a real discovery; Gustav Jenner, Brahms’s only formal student, whose dramatic, text-driven writing looks ahead almost to Schoenberg; and Theodor Kirchner, whose solo Notturnos punctuate the program.
The recording features pianist Flore Merlin on a period J. B. Streicher instrument original to the 1860s, and was produced by award-winning producer Frerik de Jong of 7 Mountain Records. It features the quartet’s original line-up: soprano Katharine Dain, mezzo-soprano Marine Fribourg, tenor Guy Cutting and baritone Drew Santini.
Press
“a perfectly executed, imaginative recital … which certainly leaves us wanting (much) more” OpusKlassiek
“a remarkable fusion of timbres and palpable collaborative energy” ON Magazine