The Mosaïques, at a rather slower tempo than usual, find in the themeand- variation finale of the G major Quartet, No 5, an unsuspected reflective tenderness.
The theme itself is played with a characteristic touch of flexibility and a gentle lift to the dotted rhythms; in the first variation Erich Höbarth shapes his decorative semiquavers fioriture with apparently spontaneous fantasy; the luminous, high-lying textures of the second are exquisitely realised; and even the Presto send-off has a delicacy and whimsy in keeping with what has gone before. The Mosaïques' readings of the slow movements in the so-called Joke (No 2) and Bird (No 3) Quartets are again outstanding in their grave tenderness, their sensitivity to harmonic flux and the improvisatory freedom Erich Höbarth brings to his ornamental figuration. The Bird, in particular, receives as searching a performance as ever heard: in the first movement the players steal in almost imperceptibly, respond vividly to the music's richness and wit, and bring a spectral pianissimo to the mysterious lull in the development. The Slavonic finale, one of several movements to benefit from the lighter, more flexible period bows, goes with terrific fire and panache.
From the teasingly timed initial upbeat of the D major Quartet, No 6, the Mosaïques' performances have all the familiar hallmarks: inventive phrasing, subtly varied colour, a sure sense of organic growth and a spontaneous-sounding delight in Haydn's inspired unpredictability.
Tempo and manner in the opening Vivace assai of No 6 are, typically, gentler than that of the equally imaginative Lindsays, the articulation lighter and more delicate, as you would expect from period strings. They catch ideally the music's glancing scherzando spirit, with a delightfully eager, quick-witted give-and-take between the instruments. Like The Lindsays, the Mosaïques vividly play up the contrast between the perky, high-stepping D major theme and alternating D minor melody. But the Mosaïques flex the tempo more freely and play with the length of Haydn's upbeats, to witty or pathetic effect.
In the Andante of the B minor Quartet (No 1) the Mosaïques arguably overdo the whimsical hesitations. However, their unusally reflective way with this movement, and the sense of remoteness they bring to the strange, spare second theme is very appealing. The undervalued B flat Quartet (No 4) is a delight throughout, from the puckish opening movement, with its quasiimprovisatory freedom to the comic exuberance of the finale; the vitality and point of the inner voices' semiquavers in the finale's G minor epi- sode are typical of the character brought to seemingly routine accompanying figuration.
This set has playing that marries uncommon style, technical finesse and re-creative flair. The recording has an attractive ambient warmth.