Love Actually is a 2003 British Christmas-themed romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The film highlights different aspects of love, told via ten separate stories (see below). It won a BAFTA Award for Bill Nighy for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Empire Award for Best British Film, Best British Actress (Emma Thompson) and Best Newcomer (Martine McCutcheon), and London Film Critics Circle Award for Best British Supporting Actor (Bill Nighy) and Best British Supporting Actress (Emma Thompson).

Ideal for wedding and concerts alike.

Characters include: Billy Mack and Joe (Bill Nighy and Gregor Fisher), Juliet, Peter and Mark (Keira Knightley, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Andrew Lincoln), Jamie and Aurélia (Colin Firth and Sienna Guillory), Harry, Karen and Mia (Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson and Heike Makatsch), David and Natalie (Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon), Daniel, Sam, Joanna and Carol (Liam Neeson, Thomas Sangster, Olivia Olson and Claudia Schiffer), Sarah, Karl and Michael (Laura Linney, Rodrigo Santoro), Colin, Tony and the American girls (Kris Marshall, Abdul Salis, Ivana Miličević, January Jones, Elisha Cuthbert, Shannon Elizabeth and Denise Richards), John and Judy (Martin Freeman and Joanna Page), and Rufus (Rowan Atkinson).

?Lovely? by Billie Eilish and Khalid was released in April 2018. Written and produced by Finneas O?Connel, brother of Billie Eilish, it was used as the soundtrack to Season Two of ?13 Reasons Why? - a drama on Netflix. The song went Platinum in New Zealand and USA, and reached the top five in the New Zealand and Australian Charts.

I think that it lends itself beautifully to a String Quartet Arrangement and very much enjoyed working on it. At the moment I have only a computer version of the Score but will be recording it with Capriccio Quartet once lockdown restrictions are at an end.

Feel free to change the bowing, especially in the eight-quaver accompaniment bars. These do need to be heard, but very much as a background texture. I envisaged the song as played with a great deal of delicacy and subtlety, though this is hard to achieve with Sibelius software. In this arrangement the cello has less to do than usual, but there are some sudden shifts of position and that deep presence is vital to the overall effectiveness of the song. The double stopping usually includes one open string.

I experimented for a long time with different octaves for the violin to play at Letters C and E. You may like to change the score at this point if it feels easier, or just prefer one or the other. I opted for the high octave at times because the unison with the viola two octaves below seemed to have a lot of emotional power. However one octave apart also sounds good so younger players could easily tackle this song.

My Youtube Channel has many of my arrangements for String Quartet, most recorded by Capriccio Quartet, and all but two available as Sheet Music Plus products. Please visit me there :- Helen Marple-Horvat, Songwriter, Arranger, Composer.