SKU: PR.11441690S

UPC: 680160626021. 9 x 12 inches.

Ran's third string quartet was written for the Pacifica Quartet, who are featuring it in numerous performances from May 2014 through February 2016, across the country and abroad. Their blog page dedicated to the work also features the composer's notes, for more indepth insight. ...impassioned solos emerge from ominous quiet, and high arpeggios in the violins quiver alongside the earthy cello. Ms. Ran skillfully deploys these extremes of color, volume and pitch, yet the overall somewhat chilly impression is one of poise. -- Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times.
My third string quartet was composed at the invitation of the Pacifica Quartet, whose music-making I have come to know closely and admire hugely as resident artists at the University of Chicago.  Already in our early conversations Pacifica proposed that this quartet might, in some manner, refer to the visual arts as a point of germination.  Probing further, I found out that the quartet members had special interest in art created during the earlier part of the 20th century, perhaps between the two world wars.  It was my good fortune to have met, a short while later, while in residence at the American Academy in Rome in the fall of 2011, art conservationist Albert Albano who steered me to the work of Felix Nussbaum (1904-1944), a German-Jewish painter who, like so many others, perished in the Holocaust at a young age, and who left some powerful, deeply moving art that spoke to the life that was unraveling around him. The title of my string quartet takes its inspiration from a major exhibit devoted to art by German artists of the period of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) titled “Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s”, first shown at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006-07.  Nussbaum would have been a bit too young to be included in this exhibit.  His most noteworthy art was created in the last very few years of his short life.  The exhibit’s evocative title, however, suggested to me the idea of “Glitter, Doom, Shards, Memory” as a way of framing a possible musical composition that would be an homage to his life and art, and to that of so many others like him during that era.  Knowing that their days were numbered, yet intent on leaving a mark, a legacy, a memory, their art is triumph of the human spirit over annihilation. Parallel to my wish to compose a string quartet that, typically for this genre, would exist as “pure music”, independent of a narrative, was my desire to effect an awareness in my listener of matters which are, to me, of great human concern.  To my mind there is no contradiction between the two goals.  As in several other works composed since 1969, this is my way of saying ‘do not forget’, something that, I believe, can be done through music with special power and poignancy.    The individual titles of the quartet’s four movements give an indication of some of the emotional strands this work explores. 1) “That which happened” (das was geschah) – is how the poet Paul Celan referred to the Shoah – the Holocaust.  These simple words served for me, in the first movement, as a metaphor for the way in which an “ordinary” life, with its daily flow and its sense of sweet normalcy, was shockingly, inhumanely, inexplicably shattered. 2) “Menace” is a shorter movement, mimicking a Scherzo.  It is also machine-like, incessant, with an occasional, recurring, waltz-like little tune – perhaps the chilling grimace we recognize from the executioner’s guillotine mask.  Like the death machine it alludes to, it gathers momentum as it goes, and is unstoppable. 3) ”If I must perish - do not let my paintings die”; these words are by Felix Nussbaum who, knowing what was ahead, nonetheless continued painting till his death in Auschwitz in 1944.  If the heart of the first movement is the shuddering interruption of life as we know it, the third movement tries to capture something of what I can only imagine to be the conflicting states of mind that would have made it possible, and essential, to continue to live and practice one’s art – bearing witness to the events.  Creating must have been, for Nussbaum and for so many others, a way of maintaining sanity, both a struggle and a catharsis – an act of defiance and salvation all at the same time. 4) “Shards, Memory” is a direct reference to my quartet’s title.  Only shards are left.  And memory.  The memory is of things large and small, of unspeakable tragedy, but also of the song and the dance, the smile, the hopes.  All things human.  As we remember, in the face of death’s silence, we restore dignity to those who are gone.—Shulamit Ran .

SKU: CF.CPS219F

ISBN 9781491153130. UPC: 680160910632.

Solar Flare, by Tyler Arcari, depicts the huge explosion on the Sun that appears as a sudden bright flash. The piece incorporates a whirlwind of mixed meters to?depict this phenomenon. Arcari showcases his fresh, exciting, and well-scored compositional style in this piece. Solar Flare makes for? an excellent concert opener.
A solar flare is a huge explosion on the sun that appears as a sudden increase in brightness or flash. Sometimes these explosions push large amounts of energy and even parts of the sun flying out into space. These events can be so powerful that they cause events on Earth such as auroras, as well as more serious issues like disrupting radio and electronic instruments. To our naked eye, these dangerous explosions are beautiful and quiet. The celestial is a fascinating place, hopefully captured in some small part by this work. About the Work: Solar Flare began as a piece with two goals: to write a space piece in 7/8 and to write a teaching 7/8 space piece. The piece uses a 2-2-3 pattern, so using this in pre-performance warm-ups might be beneficial. The piece is loosely based on a minor second descending to a minor third. This motif is used at the onset of the piece in the mallet percussion and then again in the woodwinds. The melody presents itself at m. 19 in the clarinets. This melodic material is varied and traded throughout the instrument groups until m.67. Measures 6972 should be treated as a transitional fanfare to the new material at m. 73. Measures 99115 to the end of the piece feature a style similar to the beginning that helps to transition to m. 115, which is the climax of the work. An ostinato pattern (2-2-3) is presented with fragments of the melody appearing in the alto voices. This momentum culminates in a large, abrasive area at m. 125 where the suspension-resolution in the brass and horn melodic fragment need to be the focus. This momentum continuously grows until the last note where we resolve finally. Care should be taken that the ^ accent on the final note is one meant to be played heavy, and not short.
A solar flare is a huge explosion on the sun that appears as a sudden increase in brightness or flash. Sometimes these explosions push large amounts of energy and even parts of the sun flying out into space. These events can be so powerful that they cause events on Earth such as auroras, as well as more serious issues like disrupting radio and electronic instruments. To our naked eye, these dangerous explosions are beautiful and quiet. The celestial is a fascinating place, hopefully captured in some small part by this work. About the Work: Solar Flare began as a piece with two goals: to write a space piece in 7/8 and to write a ateaching 7/8a space piece. The piece uses a 2-2-3 pattern, so using this in pre-performance warm-ups might be beneficial. The piece is loosely based on a minor second descending to a minor third. This motif is used at the onset of the piece in the mallet percussion and then again in the woodwinds. The melody presents itself at m. 19 in the clarinets. This melodic material is varied and traded throughout the instrument groups until m.67. Measures 69a72 should be treated as a transitional fanfare to the new material at m. 73. Measures 99a115 to the end of the piece feature a style similar to the beginning that helps to transition to m. 115, which is the climax of the work. An ostinato pattern (2-2-3) is presented with fragments of the melody appearing in the alto voices. This momentum culminates in a large, abrasive area at m. 125 where the suspension-resolution in the brass and horn melodic fragment need to be the focus. This momentum continuously grows until the last note where we resolve finally. Care should be taken that the a^a accent on the final note is one meant to be played heavy, and not short.
A solar flare is a huge explosion on the sun that appears as a sudden increase in brightness or flash. Sometimes these explosions push large amounts of energy and even parts of the sun flying out into space. These events can be so powerful that they cause events on Earth such as auroras, as well as more serious issues like disrupting radio and electronic instruments. To our naked eye, these dangerous explosions are beautiful and quiet. The celestial is a fascinating place, hopefully captured in some small part by this work. About the Work: Solar Flare began as a piece with two goals: to write a space piece in 7/8 and to write a ateaching 7/8a space piece. The piece uses a 2-2-3 pattern, so using this in pre-performance warm-ups might be beneficial. The piece is loosely based on a minor second descending to a minor third. This motif is used at the onset of the piece in the mallet percussion and then again in the woodwinds. The melody presents itself at m. 19 in the clarinets. This melodic material is varied and traded throughout the instrument groups until m.67. Measures 69a72 should be treated as a transitional fanfare to the new material at m. 73. Measures 99a115 to the end of the piece feature a style similar to the beginning that helps to transition to m. 115, which is the climax of the work. An ostinato pattern (2-2-3) is presented with fragments of the melody appearing in the alto voices. This momentum culminates in a large, abrasive area at m. 125 where the suspension-resolution in the brass and horn melodic fragment need to be the focus. This momentum continuously grows until the last note where we resolve finally. Care should be taken that the a^a accent on the final note is one meant to be played heavy, and not short.
A solar flare is a huge explosion on the sun that appears as a sudden increase in brightness or flash. Sometimes these explosions push large amounts of energy and even parts of the sun flying out into space. These events can be so powerful that they cause events on Earth such as auroras, as well as more serious issues like disrupting radio and electronic instruments. To our naked eye, these dangerous explosions are beautiful and quiet. The celestial is a fascinating place, hopefully captured in some small part by this work. About the Work: Solar Flare began as a piece with two goals: to write a space piece in 7/8 and to write a teaching 7/8 space piece. The piece uses a 2-2-3 pattern, so using this in pre-performance warm-ups might be beneficial. The piece is loosely based on a minor second descending to a minor third. This motif is used at the onset of the piece in the mallet percussion and then again in the woodwinds. The melody presents itself at m. 19 in the clarinets. This melodic material is varied and traded throughout the instrument groups until m.67. Measures 69-72 should be treated as a transitional fanfare to the new material at m. 73. Measures 99-115 to the end of the piece feature a style similar to the beginning that helps to transition to m. 115, which is the climax of the work. An ostinato pattern (2-2-3) is presented with fragments of the melody appearing in the alto voices. This momentum culminates in a large, abrasive area at m. 125 where the suspension-resolution in the brass and horn melodic fragment need to be the focus. This momentum continuously grows until the last note where we resolve finally. Care should be taken that the ^ accent on the final note is one meant to be played heavy, and not short.
A solar flare is a huge explosion on the sun that appears as a sudden increase in brightness or flash. Sometimes these explosions push large amounts of energy and even parts of the sun flying out into space. These events can be so powerful that they cause events on Earth such as auroras, as well as more serious issues like disrupting radio and electronic instruments. To our naked eye, these dangerous explosions are beautiful and quiet. The celestial is a fascinating place, hopefully captured in some small part by this work. About the Work: Solar Flare began as a piece with two goals: to write a space piece in 7/8 and to write a teaching 7/8 space piece. The piece uses a 2-2-3 pattern, so using this in pre-performance warm-ups might be beneficial. The piece is loosely based on a minor second descending to a minor third. This motif is used at the onset of the piece in the mallet percussion and then again in the woodwinds. The melody presents itself at m. 19 in the clarinets. This melodic material is varied and traded throughout the instrument groups until m.67. Measures 69-72 should be treated as a transitional fanfare to the new material at m. 73. Measures 99-115 to the end of the piece feature a style similar to the beginning that helps to transition to m. 115, which is the climax of the work. An ostinato pattern (2-2-3) is presented with fragments of the melody appearing in the alto voices. This momentum culminates in a large, abrasive area at m. 125 where the suspension-resolution in the brass and horn melodic fragment need to be the focus. This momentum continuously grows until the last note where we resolve finally. Care should be taken that the ^ accent on the final note is one meant to be played heavy, and not short.
A solar flare is a huge explosion on the sun that appears as a sudden increase in brightness or flash. Sometimes these explosions push large amounts of energy and even parts of the sun flying out into space. These events can be so powerful that they cause events on Earth such as auroras, as well as more serious issues like disrupting radio and electronic instruments. To our naked eye, these dangerous explosions are beautiful and quiet. The celestial is a fascinating place, hopefully captured in some small part by this work.About the Work:Solar Flare began as a piece with two goals: to write a space piece in 7/8 and to write a “teaching 7/8” space piece. The piece uses a 2-2-3 pattern, so using this in pre-performance warm-ups might be beneficial. The piece is loosely based on a minor second descending to a minor third. This motif is used at the onset of the piece in the mallet percussion and then again in the woodwinds. The melody presents itself at m. 19 in the clarinets. This melodic material is varied and traded throughout the instrument groups until m.67. Measures 69–72 should be treated as a transitional fanfare to the new material at m. 73.Measures 99–115 to the end of the piece feature a style similar to the beginning that helps to transition to m. 115, which is the climax of the work. An ostinato pattern (2-2-3) is presented with fragments of the melody appearing in the alto voices. This momentum culminates in a large, abrasive area at m. 125 where the suspension-resolution in the brass and horn melodic fragment need to be the focus. This momentum continuously grows until the last note where we resolve finally. Care should be taken that the “^” accent on the final note is one meant to be played heavy, and not short.

SKU: BT.WH31498

ISBN 9788759824603. English.

String Quartet No.4 was composed by Hans Abrahamsen in 2012. Commissioned by Westdeutscher Rundfunk and Wigmore Hall For the Arditti Quartet. Programme note: The basic idea for my Fourth String Quartet was very clear to me: It should be quiet and soft music or to put it in a german term: hoch im Himmel gesungen ... (”High singing in heaven…”). Each of the four movements has a different scordatura/pitch. The first movement begins like my work ”Schnee” sky-high with an airy and soft melody by the first violin. The second movement is fast and ”movement and joy”-like. It consists of two duets and a reverse style counterpoint. While the sections were progressively longerin the first movement they are getting shorter and shorter in the second. ”Dark, heavy and earthy” is the third movement and its pizzicato recalls big black raindrops falling to the ground. It is the dark and grainy counterpart to the first movement whereas the fourth movement corresponds to the second. The fourth movement was planned as a dark and heavy counterpart but it turned out to be like ”babbling” music of a child. My Fourth String Quartet has become in its way a serene and cool piece. So the Quartet has been finished luckyly after twenty years it was already in 1990 that I was commissioned by Wittener Tage für Neue Musik to write the piece for Arditti Quartet. Hans Abrahamsen.