The name of composer
Ferdinand Ries
(1784-1838) is most often mentioned in connection with that of
Beethoven
;
Ries
associated himself with
and leaned into the role of being his disciple. His music emulates
's in its broad details without having any of its inner urgency; that would have to wait a few more decades. The chamber works here, dating from the 1810s and 1820s and performed cleanly by the
Nash Ensemble
, make as good a case as any for his oeuvre, and listeners interested in
's milieu will value it. The
Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 143
, has a bit of
's rough humor, even if it relies on the
short-short-short long motif when the going gets rough. The
Introduction and a Russian Dance, Op. 113, No. 1
, also shows close study of the
works that incorporate dance rhythms. The two sextets are a bit more diffuse, but the
Sextet in G minor, Op. 142
, is for the odd combination of harp, clarinet, bassoon, horn, double bass, and piano, and it's worth hearing just for that unique grouping.
Hyperion
's church sound is wrong for this chamber music, but
' music is not terribly often recorded, and this is a recording that will fill holes on many shelves or hard drives. ~ James Manheim