Herbert Howells (1892-1983) was an English composer and teacher perhaps best known for his choral music in the Anglican tradition. His String Quartet No.3 (In Gloucestershire) has a somewhat chequered history: originally finished in 1916 the only copy of the score was left on a train and lost forever! In the 1920s Howells rewrote the work incorporating the themes he could remember from the original but large sections of it had to be created from scratch. Howells was unable to serve in the Great War due to ill health and this quartet provides a fascinating insight into how he reacted to the turmoil and aftermathof the conflict. The title suggests it was inspired by the Cotswold landscape of which he was fond; this is indeed the case but it is haunted by the memories of departed friends with whom the landscape had once been shared.

This quality folio contains 16 of the best from America's premier jazz band composer, arranged for string quartet up to string orchestra. Great for recitals, concerts, receptions, parties, and encores. Contents: Caravan * Creole Love Song * Day Dream * Don't Get Around Much Anymore * Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me * I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart * I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) * I'm Just a Lucky So and So * In a Sentimental Mood * It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) * Mood Indigo * Satin Doll * Solitude * Sophisticated Lady, Prelude to a Kiss, Take the A Train.

Schubertâ??s composition of a new string quartet begun in December 1820 was alas never to get beyond the first movement the heavily reworked autograph breaks off at the outset of the second movement. But the fragmentary work that later came into the hands of Johannes Brahms from Schubertâ??s estate delighted its new owner so much after its premiere in 1867 that Brahms had the first movement published three years later as Schubertâ??s â??Posthumous Workâ? â?? thus paving the way into audiencesâ?? hearts for this little gem. Schubertâ??s autograph manuscript features such numerous divergences in dynamics and articulation that editor Egon Voss suspects it to be one of Schubertâ??s experiments withvariations. This is why in his Urtext edition he proceeds with extreme restraint in issuing additions and changes with respect to parallel passages ¬â?? thus making Schubertâ??s diversity of ideas comprehensible for performing musicians. For all who want a peek inside Schubertâ??s workshop the few measures of the second movement are included as a bonus! Schubertâ??s composition of a new string quartet begun in December 1820 was alas never to get beyond the first movement the heavily reworked autograph breaks off at the outset of the second movement. But the fragmentary work that later came into the hands of Johannes Brahms from Schubertâ??s estate delighted its new owner so much after its premiere in 1867 that Brahms had the first movement published three years later as Schubertâ??s â??Posthumous Workâ? â?? thus paving the way into audiencesâ?? hearts for this little gem. Schubertâ??s autograph manuscript features such numerous divergences in dynamics and articulation that editor Egon Voss suspects it to be one of Schubertâ??s experiments withvariations. This is why in his Urtext edition he proceeds with extreme restraint in issuing additions and changes with respect to parallel passages ¬â?? thus making Schubertâ??s diversity of ideas comprehensible for performing musicians. For all who want a peek inside Schubertâ??s workshop the few measures of the second movement are included as a bonus!

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.

String Quartet op. 3-Alban Berg?s String Quartet can be considered to be one of the founding works of the Second Viennese School. Already composed in 1910 and first published in 1920 it was the last composition the25-year-old wrote under the tutelage of Arnold Schoenberg who admired ?the fullness and unconstraint of his musical language the strength and sureness of its presentation its careful working and significantoriginality?. Even today the extremely complex work places the highest technical demands on the interpreters; for this reason this edition contains parts that are especially good to play from in which each musician can alsofollow what is going on in the other parts.