Par PART ARVO. Fratres (original setting for violin and piano) was commissioned by the Salzburg Festival and premiered on August 17th, 1980 at that very place (violin: Gidon Kremer, piano: Elena Kremer). Composed in Pärt's very own 'Tintinnabuli'-style, this piece allows many different settings because it is not bound to a specific tone color. 'The highest virtue of music, for me, lies outside of its mere sound. The particular timbre of an instrument is part of the music, but it is not the most important element. If it were, I would be surrendering to the essence of the music. Music must exist of itself … two, three notes … the essence must be there, independent of the instruments.' (Arvo Pärt)/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes

Score available: KP30120 The composer writes:The slow choral-like music which initiates 'Adieu' was the result of an image or almost a dream that I had. Without being able to explain why I imagined a procession of people maybe medieval munks wearing large gray mantles with Ku-Klux-Klan-like white cowls on their heads something like a funeral procession. The title Adieu is partly a comment on this funeral procession but also used because the piece is split up by three slow-ascending glissandi a kind of 'farewell glissandi' which removes the intervening music. The first absorbing glissando is soft and removes both the slow funeral choral and the agitating figures inthe first half of the piece. The second glissando is given only to the cello and crawls out from the elegiac melodies in the middle part. The third and 'final' glissando is intense and agitating and prepares the way for the end of the piece. This end primarily deals with the relationship fast - slow. This relationship is turned topsy turvy: the music gets faster and faster until it is so fast that it suddenly becomes slow so slow in fact that it is very quickly able to become extremely fast again.

Par KOLBUSZ ALEKSANDRA. Long before writing Passalega, I harboured the idea of creating some form of organically homogeneous chain of musical tensions evolving ever more distinctly into a musical utterance, although still indeterminate in terms of pitch. The tissues forming the chain of those tensions were of relatively simple design, yet in spite of this ? or perhaps because of it ? they were incredibly well suited to generating the expressive narrative that accompanied me throughout that entire pre-composition period. After recognising the character of the musical potential in that material, I considered it to be similar to Baroque rhetoric in terms of the refined clarity and smoothness of the gestures. Inspired by this, I sought to articulate this material in the fullest possible way by tracing a chain of swelling tensions, referring to a homogeneously polyphonic string quartet. / Date parution : 2022-12-12/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes

E flat major-There is no reference to the origin occasion or a performance of the Sinfonia concertante in E-flat for Violin Viola and Orchestra K. 364 (320d) because in all probability it was composed in Salzburg (presumably in summer or early autumn 1779): Mozart seems to have had no reason to write about it. It was apparently in Paris that he first had the occasion of giving the genre of the ?Symphonie concertante? his special attention. On April 5 1778 he wrote to his father: ?Now I shall write a sinfonie concertante for flute wendling oboe Ramm Punto horn and Ritter bassoon?.Even more discouraging must have been the fact that he had similardifficulties in Paris in having the works performed as he had in Mannheim. After the organizier of the Concerts spirituels Le Gros contrary to his promise did not include the mentioned ?sinfonie concertante? in his program.Mozart had no reason to compose any more for this genre in Paris. After Mozart?s return to Salzburg he might have been eager to introduce the new genre there especially since adequate instrumentalists were available. Also the choice of the solo instruments (violin and viola) in the work presented here was probably influenced by the popularity of this instrumental combination in Salzburg at that time.- Urtext of the New Mozart Edition- Full score

Pour Quator á Cordes-Born in 1947 Laurent Duvillier-Wable trained under pianist Suzanne Joly and studied composition with Michel Puig. The latter a student of Ren? Leibowitz introduced him to the mysteries of Sch?nberg and Webern's twelve-note composition. To create a coherent œuvre Duvillier-Wable drew on the array of possibilities offered by chamber music in his series of six Sonatas composed between 1992 and 2007. Sonata IV For String Quartet was written in 1994 the year his father – painter Ren? Duvillier a friend of Charles Estienne and Andr? Breton – fell gravely ill. Divided into four movements thecomposition contains two beautifully expressive musical references: the Lamento religioso refers to Bach's Passion according to Saint Matthew by quoting the choral 'Was ist die Ursache aller solcher Plagen' (No.19: What is the cause of all this suffering?) when Jesus distressed by his imminent agony asks his disciples to watch over him. The Agitato final borrows the inexorable 'Must it be? It must!' theme from Beethoven's Quartet No.16 in F that crowns this poignant work.

Prayer of the Heart was inspired by The Chain of Hope. This charitable organisation raises money for the treatment of heart disorders in children including Marfan’s Syndrome of which John Tavener is a sufferer. Thesinger should sit on a low stool bowing towards the heart. This facilitates the soul’s concentration and its unification in ecstasy. The Prayer of the Heart is prayed ceaselessly day and night awake or sleeping becauseit has become at one with the beating of the heart... Silence peace sweetness of union with God... The Prayer is not usually sounded with the voice at all it is silent. Therefore the music must be played and sungintensely quietly with no physical effort. The Byzantine bell and large Tibetan temple bowl may be played by the singer. Prayer of the Heart should be sung in subdued lighting perhaps by candlelight. The recording of theheartbeat should sound very tenderly and quietly throughout.

George Nicholson's Salut for String Quartet. The death of Peter Cropper in May 2015 was an immeasurable blow to the musical community especially to those of us who knew him not only as a wonderful wise musician but also as a warm colleague and friend. His unceasing devotion to the cause of music and to the promotion of excellent standards in performance was in my experience beyond compare. The finest tribute we can pay him is to continue to make music to the best of our ability and to go on reaching out to continue to explore and learn. I always felt that I would need to commemorate Peter in a piece for StringQuartet the medium he was most obviously associated with and in Salut it is understandably the first Violin part that has pride of place. The piece develops contrasting textures and registers and above all it is concerned with the influence of the extremely high Violin writing at the beginning on the rest of the ensemble. - George Nicholson Salut was first performed by the Ligeti Quartet Firth Hall University of Sheffield 17 May 2016.

The quartet in a minor is one of the chamber music works with which Schubert wanted to 'pave the way to the great symphony? in spring 1824. At the same time he was paving his way to a wider audience, as the 'Rosamunde? Quartet was the first and only string quartet that was not only publicly performed in Schubert's lifetime but also published in parts. It is fortunate for us that this was the case because the autograph of this much-loved quartet is missing today and the only source for the work is the first edition. And this is precisely where the challenge lies, as the parts exhibit some inaccuracies regarding the articulation and dynamics. They have had to be carefully resolved, something which our new Urtext edition has done in an exemplary fashion. Its name can be traced back to Schubert's incidental music to the play Rosamunde, which can be heard at the beginning of the Andante. Quite a few people might, however, be reminded of the Impromptu in B flat major op. post. 142 #3, in which Schubert later once again took up the beautiful melody. / 2 Violons, Alto Et Violoncelle

Gabriel Fauré's only string quartet which was composed in 1923-24 is the composer?s final work and was written at the suggestion of his publisher Jacques Durand.Until then Fauré had always put off writing a string quartet evidently because of Beethoven?s imposing shadow. When Fauré composed the quartet he was already extremely ill. He added dynamics and slurs only in some parts of the exposition of the first movement and then asked his former pupil Jean Roger-Ducasse to complete the work. Roger-Ducasse?s additions were however very extensive; he even altered and supplemented some of Fauré?s own markings in the exposition.Bärenreiter's first ever scholarlycritical edition of the quartet based on vol. V/3 of the edition 'Gabriel Fauré: ?vres complètes' begun in August 2010 utilises all sources including the composer?s letters which provide valuable insights into the origins of the composition. In particular Fauré?s penultimate work the Piano Trio op. 120 was used to guide the editor with his emendations.

Because a fine orchestra depends on fine players, Solo Time for Strings emphasizes individual accomplishment, progress, and achievement while preparing young students for participation in a school orchestra. The series teaches reading in conjunction with note learning, enabling students to start playing melodies as soon as possible, and is appropriate for class or individual instruction. The solos assist in a progressive technical development from 'twinkle, twinkle' in Book 1 to music by Vivaldi in Book 5. / Alto

Because a fine orchestra depends on fine players, Solo Time for Strings emphasizes individual accomplishment, progress, and achievement while preparing young students for participation in a school orchestra. The series teaches reading in conjunction with note learning, enabling students to start playing melodies as soon as possible, and is appropriate for class or individual instruction. The solos assist in a progressive technical development from 'twinkle, twinkle' in Book 1 to music by Vivaldi in Book 5. / Alto

Conducteur Ba 10927 et Ba 10928. Par SAINT-SAENS CAMILLE. Ludwig van Beethoven's overpowering legacy caused many subsequent composers to avoid writing string quartets at all. Saint-Saëns was no exception in this respect and waited until 1899 and 1918 to produce his two contributions to the genre. Couched in classicism, they relate in form and style to early 19th-century French quartets and to a titan of the genre: Joseph Haydn. Saint-Saëns' string quartets appear here for the first time in a scholarly-critical edition. It is also the first edition to contain the original version of the Finale to String Quartet No. 2 in score and parts. An informative Introduction is included in the study score to complete this volume of important French chamber music, based on the Urtext from 'Camille Saint-Saëns - Complete Edition of the Instrumental Works”./ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes

This work for viola chorus and percussion was commissioned by the London Symphony Chorus and was first performed in October 1994 at the Barbican Hall London by Yuri Bashmet and the London Symphony Chorus conducted by StephenWestrop.The remarkable text of the Troparion written by the great Byzantine poetess-nun Cassiana was the inspiration of The Myrrh-Bearer. The text informed the architecture of the music. The viola solo represents MaryMagdalen as the cello solo represented the Mother of God on The Protecting Veil. This is where the resemblance between the two pieces ends.In The Myrrh-Bearer the Chorus symbolises ‘us’ the ‘sins of the world’ from‘stylized dictatorships’ to ‘the frivolous inane escapist vanities of the world ’ the to cries of ‘help’ after the cosmic catastrophe and finally reaching an apocalyptic climax in the words ‘We have no king by Caesar;’ adownright condemnation of God in the Earthly power.In a surreal way the Magdalen’s ‘sin’ shines through in the viola music because she recognises the Godhead and the endless ‘Kyrie eleison’ chanted by the semi-chorusrepresents her repentance and whatever is left of a ‘repentant’ world.The Myrrh-Bearer explores the whole range of the viola climbing from the depths up to the highest notes and then falling again at the end after theMagdalen’s recognition of the Risen Christ ‘Rabboni.’The last stroke of the gong in the viola’s final bottom C gives a deliberately ominous end to the piece.This is a special item which is made to order. Please e-mail ourMail Order Department for further information.

Because a fine orchestra depends on fine players, Solo Time for Strings emphasizes individual accomplishment, progress, and achievement while preparing young students for participation in a school orchestra. The series teaches reading in conjunction with note learning, enabling students to start playing melodies as soon as possible, and is appropriate for class or individual instruction. The solos assist in a progressive technical development from 'twinkle, twinkle' in Book 1 to music by Vivaldi in Book 5. / Alto