No biography but the booklet photograph shows four young men. If the first movement of Op 76 No 2 is an indication, they can be fiery, too: they sense a throwback to Haydn’s Sturm und Drang period of the late 1760s, in particular the second movement of Symphony No 49, which also has wide leaps in the opening theme; and their concentrated drive in this Allegro makes the playing of many other groups seem tame. Yet these musicians aren’t uncouth because they know when to unbend, graciously so, for example, in the pianissimo bars before the reprise. The Jerusalem Quartet speak their message with no more emphasis than the medium can bear.

The four players are not over-separated but they are closely miked and the transfer level is high. Both aspects contribute to harshness from the first violin, and a thickening of the texture that intermittently leads to tonal monotony, notably in parts of the first two movements of Op 64 No 5. It suggests that the players are sometimes careless about balancing lines for variety in colour and dynamics, though that seems unlikely given the intelligence and feeling behind their playing.

Such qualities are to the fore in Op 77 No 1, the first movement stately and imperious with perkily accented grace notes lifting the rhythm, the second passionately expounded. The Menuetto (marked Presto, really a Scherzo) is tense, the Trio more so, and faster as directed. Haydn at 67 was still looking ahead and the Jerusalem Quartet do him justice.