Into the faded air was commissioned by Britten Sinfonia for first performance at Filharmonic Hall Krakow Poland on Sunday 13th January 2008 with Jacqueline Shave (Violin) Miranda Dale (Violin) Clare Finnimore(Viola) Catherine Musker (Viola) Caroline Dearnley (Cello) and Banjamin Chappell (Cello).Scoring: String Sextet (2 Violins 2 Violas and 2 Cellos)Duration: 10 minutes Composer'sNotes 'Into The Faded Air is cast in four movements although the last three movements are played without a break.In the first movement the sextet is divided into twogroups. The first group consisting of violin viola and cello plays a sustained melody while the second group (also violin viola and cello) contributes more jagged and intricate material. The second movement is an extended duetfor two violas accompanied by the other instruments. As the movement progresses the accompanying instruments become more prominent. The third movement is the only fast movement in the piece with rapid semiquavers and much useof pizzicato throughout. This leads into a serene chorale where the three upper instruments (two violins and first viola) are set against the second viola and two cellos.' - HelenGrime

Premiered by the Takács String Quartet in 2004 Carl Vine?s String Quartet No.4 is a dark and pensive work. Split into two equal parts this acerbic 15-minute exploration of conflict without resolution with angular rhythmic gestures set abruptly against a brooding chorale would make an imposing addition to any quartet?s repertoire.

Par FREEMAN ALEX. Alex Freeman found initial inspiration for his string quartet (2015) in a series of photographs a geologist friend showed him of en échelon veins in rock formations. The open strings punctuated with pizzicato unisons that begin the single-movement work call to mind something crystalline and shimmering, which is immediately infused with tumbling lyrical lines in something of a rapid caccia technique throughout. The middle of the work becomes more suspended in slower material loosely based on a technique of prolation canon, comprises layers of free, expressive, lyrical, and even elegiac music moving at different speeds. As the work concludes, the materials converge in a rhythmically pulsating stasis and an almost chorale-like statement. Duration: c. 13' This product includes the score and the parts (A4 sized). American-Finnish composer Alex Freeman (b.1972) has established himself among the foremost composers of choral music in Finland. A dedicated citizen of his musical community, a teacher, and a choral singer himself, he composes music that reflects an appreciation for a wide range of aesthetics and a passion for communicating with listeners and performers. In his choral works, in particular, we find music that aims to be sonorous, melodic, and resonant, but is always crafted to carefully avoid the cliches that can burden conventional tonality. His instrumental works run the gamut: a cantata with orchestra based on poetry of Whitman; a significant body of solo piano works that reveal deep roots in everything from austere absolute music to soaring elegaic rhetoric (see Albany Records, Inner Voice); his chamber work Blueshift (Navona Records), which is a kind of paean to Reich and Adams in miniature; open-ended modular works, like various iterations of his Slow All Clocks for electronic media, solo clarinet, and mixed choirs of kanteles; and, recently, some new directions in microtonal music. / Date parution : 2022-05-31/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes

The sweeping melody line of Across The Vast Eternal Sky blends smoothly with a sense of symphonic chorale. The Silvestri text begins with the last words in Gjeilo's 2011 Tundra here painting a world of light. An excellent centerpiece work for high school and beyond and a sure audience pleaser! String quartet score and parts. Vocal score available separately (HL00117661).

From thunder to funeral chorale; from transfixed ecstasy to ancient Arab dance - a musical portrait of Michael Israfel Gabriel andAzrael the four Angels of religious tradition.