The Movies Collection Quatuor à cordes: 2 violons, alto, violoncelle - Facile De Haske Publications
String Quartet - early intermediate SKU: BT.DHP-1196090-070 10 Great F...(+)
String Quartet - early
intermediate
SKU:
BT.DHP-1196090-070
10 Great Film Music
Themes. Arranged by
Anthony Gröger. De
Haske Pops for String
Quartet.
TV-Film-Musical-Show. Set
(Score & Parts). Composed
2019. 36 pages. De Haske
Publications #DHP
1196090-070. Published by
De Haske Publications
(BT.DHP-1196090-070).
ISBN 9789043157674.
English-German-French-Dut
ch.
Cinema has
always aimed to do one
thing above all else:
arouse emotions. Yet
however exciting,
entertaining or
fascinating a story might
be, its full impact is
really only felt with the
help of the right music.
While most original
soundtracks demand a
large orchestra, a much
smaller ensemble is
sufficient: Anthony
Gröger has taken ten
of the all-time most
beautiful film scores and
created stunning
arrangements for string
quartet. In keeping with
the Pops for String
Quartet series, this
volume also includes an
optional third violin
part in case a viola is
not available. This is an
indispensable collection
for any
occasion!
Van
oudsher is de film
bovenal bedoeld geweest
om emotie op te roepen.
Maar hoe spannend,
vermakelijk of boeiend
een verhaal ook is, pas
met de ondersteuning van
de juiste muziek komt het
volledig tot zijn recht.
Hoewel de meeste
originele soundtracks een
orkest met een grote
bezetting vereisen,
voldoet in dit geval een
kleiner ensemble. Anthony
Gröger heeft tien van
de mooiste
filmmuziektitels
verzameld en er prachtige
arrangementen voor
strijkkwartet van
gemaakt. Net als bij de
andere uitgaven in de
serie Pops for String
Quartet bevat ook
deze bundel een optionele
derde vioolpartij, voor
het geval er geen
altviool beschikbaar is.
Een fraaie collectie met
nummers voordiverse
gelegenheden!
Seit jeher
möchte Kino vor allem
eines: Emotionen wecken.
Doch wie spannend,
lustig, interessant eine
Story auch immer sein mag
erst mit Hilfe der
passenden Filmmusik kann
sie ihre volle Wirkung
entfalten. Während die
meisten Soundtracks im
Original ein groß
besetztes Orchester
erfordern, genügt hier
bereits eine viel
kleinere Besetzung:
Anthony Gröger hat
sich zehn der
schönsten
Filmmusik-Titel aller
Zeiten vorgenommen und
wirkungsvoll für
Streichquartett
bearbeitet. Eine
unverzichtbare Sammlung
für Anlässe jeder
Art, bei denen ein
Streichquartett gefragt
ist. Wie in der Serie
Pops for String
Quartet üblich,
enthält das Set auch
eine optionale
dritteViolinstimme für
den Fall, dass keine
Bratsche zur Verfügung
steht.
From THE LION KING. Composed by Elton John. Arranged by Nico Dezaire. De Haske...(+)
From THE LION KING.
Composed
by Elton John. Arranged
by
Nico Dezaire. De Haske
Pops
for String Quartet. Pop
and
Rock. Set (Score and
Parts).
Composed 2020. 6 pages.
De
Haske Publications #DHP
1206264-070. Published by
De
Haske Publications
By John Craton. String quartet. For 2 violins, viola, violoncello. Chamber Musi...(+)
By John Craton. String
quartet. For 2 violins,
viola, violoncello.
Chamber Music. A quartet
for the young, playable
by an intermediate level
ensemble. Contemporary.
Score and parts. 26
pages. Duration 13:00.
Published by Wolfhead
Music. (WM103)
Level: Intermediate.
You Are My Sunshine Quatuor à cordes: 2 violons, alto, violoncelle - Facile De Haske Publications
String Quartet - early intermediate SKU: BT.DHP-1196191-070 Composed by J...(+)
String Quartet - early
intermediate
SKU:
BT.DHP-1196191-070
Composed by Jimmie Davis,
Charles Mitchell.
Arranged by Nico Dezaire.
De Haske Pops for String
Quartet. Set (Score &
Parts). Composed 2019. De
Haske Publications #DHP
1196191-070. Published by
De Haske Publications
(BT.DHP-1196191-070).
ISBN 9789043157988.
English-German-French-Dut
ch.
With its
simple, memorable melody
and folk-song style,
You Are My
Sunshine is
undoubtedly one of
America’s most
successful old-time music
love songs. Its success
in the 1940s massively
boosted the popularity of
the song’s singer
and guitarist, Jimmie
Davis and Charles
Mitchell, so much so that
it helped to springboard
Davis’ political
career, culminating in
his successful election
as Governor of Louisiana
in 1944. Dezaire’s
skilful arrangement
retains the
quintessential country
sound of the original
with this new string
quartet
orchestration.
You Are My Sunshine
is een liefdesliedje in
de Amerikaanse
old-time-muziektraditie
met een eenvoudige,
volksliedachtige en
bijzonder aanstekelijke
melodie. Zanger Jimmie
Davis en gitarist Charles
Mitchell werden er in de
jaren 1940 enorm populair
mee. Het succes gaf Davis
zelfs een beslissende
boost in zijn politieke
carrière, die hij
bekroonde met zijn
verkiezing tot gouverneur
van de Amerikaanse staat
Louisiana. Nico Dezaire
heeft met dit arrangement
de kenmerkende
countrysound van het
origineel op vakkundige
wijze bewerkt voor
strijkkwartet.
You Are My Sunshine
ist ein Lovesong in der
Tradition der
US-amerikanischen
Old-Time Music, dessen
einfache, volksliedartige
Melodie sich sofort
einprägt. Sänger
Jimmie Davis und
Gitarrist Charles
Mitchell erlangten mit
diesem Titel in den
1940er-Jahren eine enorme
Popularität. Bei Davis
beflügelte dieser
Erfolg sogar
maßgeblich seine
politische Karriere, die
er mit seiner Wahl zum
Gouverneur des
US-Bundesstaats Louisiana
krönen konnte. Nico
Dezaire setzt in seiner
Bearbeitung den typischen
Country-Sound des
Originals gekonnt auf
eine
Streichquartett-Besetzung
um.
String Quartet (Parts) SKU: HL.14037707 Parts. Composed by Kevin V...(+)
String Quartet (Parts)
SKU: HL.14037707
Parts. Composed by
Kevin Volans. Music Sales
America. Contemporary.
Softcover. Composed 2010.
80 pages. Chester Music
#CH7452501. Published by
Chester Music
(HL.14037707).
ISBN
9781849385916. UPC:
884088578626.
8.25x11.75x0.262
inches.
Kevin
Volans' String Quartet
No. 9: Shiva Dances was
commissioned by BBC Radio
3 and first performed by
the Smith Quartet at the
2004 Huddersfield
Contemporary Music
Festival.
Kevin
Volans (the composer)
notes on the
piece: In the past
I have been interested in
trying to go beyond
historicism (1970s),
beyond style(1980s) and
beyond form (1990s) in my
work. Looking back over
the music of the
twentiethcentury I was
struck by the fact the
nearlyall of it is
extremely 'busy', almost
cluttered. Italmost
seemed that composers
felt compelled to look
industrious. In the new
millennium Ithought it
would be interesting to
try and eliminate
content. I also aspired
to movingfrommusic (sound
as art) to art (art as
sound). This, of course,
has already been done by
a numberof composers
(many from New York -
Phil Niblock and La Monte
Young, to name but two),
butit was something I had
never tried.AlthoughI
found it annoying that
the label 'minimalist'
was given to my
African-based work,and
fearing this would make
the label stick, I set
out to write a piece
which reflected my loveof
minimal painting and
architecture. The
Japanesehave a term
'wabi' meaning
'voluntarypoverty' or
'emptiness' to describe
their restrained minimal
aesthetic, an aesthetic
which,however, pays
greatest attention to the
quality of material and
fine detail. I like to
think thatthelack of
excessive pitch material
in this piece reflects a
kind of voluntary
poverty.When Shiva is
portrayed dancing (as
Nataraj) He is depicted
in a circle of flames
crushing asmall figure -
the ego - underfoot.You
get theimpression He
dances on the spot, not
movingaround at all. I
like that. The piece
is dedicated to Pablo
Pascual
Cilleruelo.
Beatles for 4 Quatuor à cordes: 2 violons, alto, violoncelle - Intermédiaire De Haske Publications
String Quartet - intermediate SKU: BT.DHP-1175785-070 Composed by John Le...(+)
String Quartet -
intermediate
SKU:
BT.DHP-1175785-070
Composed by John Lennon
and Paul McCartney.
Arranged by Anthony
Gröger. De Haske Pops
for String Quartet. Set
(Score and Parts).
Composed 2017. 12 pages.
De Haske Publications
#DHP 1175785-070.
Published by De Haske
Publications
(BT.DHP-1175785-070).
ISBN 9789043152877.
International.
In
the entire history of pop
and rock, no band has so
dominated the music scene
as original brit-poppers
the Beatles did in the
1960s. For this medley
for string quartet, four
songs were selected that
show the musical range of
the Fab Four: from the
powerful Help!
through the romantic
evergreen
Yesterday and the
rock classic A Hard
Dayâ??s Night to the
passionate anthem All
You Need Is Love.
In de Pop and
Rock geschiedenis heeft
geen enkele ander band de
muziekscene zo
gedomineerd als The
Beatles tijdens de jaren
zestig. In deze medley
voor strijkkwartet zijn
vier songs geselecteerd
die de muzikale
verscheidenheid van de
Fab Four goed
weerspiegelen: van het
krachtige Help!
via de romantische
evergreen
Yesterday en de
rockklassieker A Hard
Dayâ??s Night tot
het hartstochtelijke
All You Need Is
Love.
In der
gesamten Geschichte der
Pop- und Rockmusik gab es
keine andere Band, die
die Musikszene so
beherrscht hat, wie es
bei der britischen
Popband The Beatlesâ??
in den 1960er Jahren der
Fall war. Für dieses
Medley für
Streichquartett wurden
vier Stücke
ausgewählt, welche die
musikalische Bandbreite
der Fab Fourâ??
(berühmten Vierâ??)
zeigen: vom
mitreiÃ?enden
Help! über den
klassischen Evergreen
Yesterday und den
Rock-Klassiker A Hard
Dayâ??s Night bis
hin zu der
leidenschaftlichen Hymne
All You Need Is
Love.
Chamber Music String Quartet SKU: PR.144404550 Composed by Sydney F. Hodk...(+)
Chamber Music String
Quartet
SKU:
PR.144404550
Composed
by Sydney F. Hodkinson.
Set of Score and Parts.
With Standard notation.
Composed 2002.
53+20+16+16+16 pages.
Duration 22 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#144-40455. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.144404550).
UPC:
680160030859.
After
finishing a serious
woodwind quintet in the
fall of 2001 [Tela
Lacerata], I found, in
the ensuing months, that
its cinders/ashes were
still impregnating my
eardrums. Therefore, when
I set out to write the
present string piece, I
realized that the musical
veins of the quartet,
like related cousins,
were sharing the same
blood as the earlier wind
composition. The
resultant Fifth Quartet
evolved into two large,
extended movements, each
one containing seven
parts that are played
without pause. As the
list of the various
sub-sections clearly
indicates, the formal
structure of the
movements appear to be
identical: each with
three main parts
enveloped by interludes,
plus an introduction and
coda. However, the
principal segments of the
first (slow) movement
gradually decrease in
length, while those of
the second (fast)
movement increase. In
addition, there is a
goodly amount of sonic
material stolen from the
first movement which
reappears -- stitched
together in a new guise
-- into the world of the
second. for example, the
bulk of Parts B and C of
Movement II are lifted
bodily, although
elaborately modified,
from their first
appearances in the
Introduction and Part A
of the fist movement.
This offers, I suppose at
least a hint of a
traditional
recapitulation. As was
true in the earlier
woodwind piece -- both
harmonically and
melodically -- the
embryonic growth of the
musical fabric (primarily
the tritone and perfect
fifth) is omnipresent,
almost obsessively,
throughout the course of
the whole work. These two
intervals, not unlike
plasticine, habitually
transform themselves into
the scales, chords, and
melodic lines that
pervade the texture of
the quartet. Owing to the
largely unrelieved
dramatic flow, the
shifting speed, and the
often fervent intensity,
the quartet places
considerable demands on
the dexterity,
virtuosity, and stamina
of the four performers.
String Quartet No. 5 is
approximately 22 minutes
in duration and
affectionately dedicated
to my violinist wife
Elizabeth, as a gift for
our 47 years together. It
was commissioned by the
Corigliano String
Quartet, New York, NY. --
Sydney Hodkinson.
Chamber Music String Quartet SKU: PR.14440455S Composed by Sydney F. Hodk...(+)
Chamber Music String
Quartet
SKU:
PR.14440455S
Composed
by Sydney F. Hodkinson.
Large Score. With
Standard notation. 53
pages. Duration 22
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #144-40455S.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.14440455S).
UPC:
680160030873.
After
finishing a serious
woodwind quintet in the
fall of 2001 [Tela
Lacerata], I found, in
the ensuing months, that
its cinders/ashes were
still impregnating my
eardrums. Therefore, when
I set out to write the
present string piece, I
realized that the musical
veins of the quartet,
like related cousins,
were sharing the same
blood as the earlier wind
composition. The
resultant Fifth Quartet
evolved into two large,
extended movements, each
one containing seven
parts that are played
without pause. As the
list of the various
sub-sections clearly
indicates, the formal
structure of the
movements appear to be
identical: each with
three main parts
enveloped by interludes,
plus an introduction and
coda. However, the
principal segments of the
first (slow) movement
gradually decrease in
length, while those of
the second (fast)
movement increase. In
addition, there is a
goodly amount of sonic
material stolen from the
first movement which
reappears -- stitched
together in a new guise
-- into the world of the
second. for example, the
bulk of Parts B and C of
Movement II are lifted
bodily, although
elaborately modified,
from their first
appearances in the
Introduction and Part A
of the fist movement.
This offers, I suppose at
least a hint of a
traditional
recapitulation. As was
true in the earlier
woodwind piece -- both
harmonically and
melodically -- the
embryonic growth of the
musical fabric (primarily
the tritone and perfect
fifth) is omnipresent,
almost obsessively,
throughout the course of
the whole work. These two
intervals, not unlike
plasticine, habitually
transform themselves into
the scales, chords, and
melodic lines that
pervade the texture of
the quartet. Owing to the
largely unrelieved
dramatic flow, the
shifting speed, and the
often fervent intensity,
the quartet places
considerable demands on
the dexterity,
virtuosity, and stamina
of the four performers.
String Quartet No. 5 is
approximately 22 minutes
in duration and
affectionately dedicated
to my violinist wife
Elizabeth, as a gift for
our 47 years together. It
was commissioned by the
Corigliano String
Quartet, New York, NY. --
Sydney Hodkinson.
Composed
by Leos Janacek. Edited
by Leoš Faltus and
Miloš Štedron. This
edition: complete
edition, urtext edition.
Linen. Complete Critical
Edition of the Works of
Leos Janacek E/4.
Complete edition, Score,
Set of parts. Composed
1928. No. 2. Duration 26
minutes. Baerenreiter
Verlag #BA06857_00.
Published by Baerenreiter
Verlag (BA.BA06857).
ISBN 9790260100503.
34.3 x 27 cm
inches.
Janácek
€™s 2nd String
Quartet, “Intimate
Lettersâ€, is
regarded as a highlight
of the modern string
quartet literature. It
was written during the
composer’s last
year of life, between 29
January and 19 February
1928, inspired by the
ageing
Janácek’s
exceptional love for
Kamila Stösslová.
The Moravian Quartet
devoted themselves to
this impressive work;
Janácek attended a
total of three of their
rehearsals in May and
June 1928. This had
several consequences,
including his abandoning
his original idea of
using a viola
d’amore.
Af
ter Janácek’s
unexpected death (12
August 1928) the
uncertain genesis of the
work became the greatest
problem of the
“Intimate
Lettersâ€: the
surviving copies were not
definitively
authorised.
The
editors of this new
edition have reverted to
Janácek’s
autograph sketches as the
main, most reliable
source and using these as
a basis, have
reconstructed the work as
it stood at the point of
Janácek’s
death.
The musical
text therefore contains
clear differences in
comparison with older
editions.
About
Barenreiter
Urtext
What can I
expect from a Barenreiter
Urtext
edition?<
/p>
MUSICOLOGICA
LLY SOUND - A
reliable musical text
based on all available
sources - A
description of the
sources -
Information on the
genesis and history of
the work - Valuable
notes on performance
practice - Includes
an introduction with
critical commentary
explaining source
discrepancies and
editorial decisions
... AND
PRACTICAL -
Page-turns, fold-out
pages, and cues where you
need them - A
well-presented layout and
a user-friendly
format - Excellent
print quality -
Superior paper and
binding
Cassatt. Composed
by Dan Welcher. Premiere:
Cassatt Quartet,
Northeastern Illinois
University, Chicago, IL.
Contemporary. Full score.
With Standard notation.
Composed 2007. WRT11142.
52 pages. Duration 24
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #164-00272S.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.16400272S).
UPC:
680160588442. 8.5 x 11
inches.
My third
quartet is laid out in a
three-movement structure,
with each movement based
on an early, middle, and
late work of the great
American impressionist
painter Mary Cassatt.
Although the movements
are separate, with
full-stop endings, the
music is connected by a
common scale-form,
derived from the name
MARY CASSATT, and by a
recurring theme that
introduces all three
movements. I see this
theme as Mary's Theme, a
personality that stays
intact while undergoing
gradual change. I
The Bacchante (1876)
[Pennsylvania Academy of
Fine Arts, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania] The
painting shows a young
girl of Italian or
Spanish origin, playing a
small pair of cymbals.
Since Cassatt was trying
very hard to fit in at
the French Academy at the
time, she painted a lot
of these subjects, which
were considered typical
and universal. The style
of the painting doesn't
yet show Cassatt's
originality, except
perhaps for certain
details in the face.
Accordingly the music for
this movement is
Spanish/Italian, in a
similar period-style but
using the musical
signature described
above. The music begins
with Mary's Theme,
ruminative and slow, then
abruptly changes to an
alla Spagnola-type fast
3/4 - 6/8 meter. It
evokes the
Spanish-influenced music
of Ravel and Falla.
Midway through,
there's an accompanied
recitative for the viola,
which figures large in
this particular movement,
then back to a truncated
recapitulation of the
fast music. The overall
feeling is of a
well-made, rather
conventional movement in
a contemporary
Spanish/Italian style.
Cassatt's painting, too,
is rather conventional.
II At the Opera
(1880) [Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston,
Massachusetts]
This painting is one of
Cassatt's most well known
works, and it hangs in
the Museum of Fine Arts
in Boston. The painting
shows a woman alone in a
box at the opera house,
completely dressed
(including gloves) and
looking through opera
glasses at someone or
something that is NOT on
the stage. Across the
auditorium from her, but
exactly at eye level, is
a gentleman with opera
glasses intently watching
her - though it is not
him that she's looking
at. It's an intriguing
picture. This
movement is far less
conventional than the
first movement, as the
painting is far less
conventional. The music
begins with a rapid,
Shostakovich-type
mini-overture lasting
less than a minute, based
on Mary's Theme. My
conjecture is that the
woman in the painting has
arrived late to the
opera, busily stumbling
into her box. What
happens next is a kind of
collage, a kind of
surrealistic overlaying
of two different
elements: the foreground
music, at first is a
direct quotation of
Soldier's Chorus from
Gounod's FAUST (an opera
Cassatt would certainly
have heard in the
brand-new Paris Opera
House at that time),
played by Violin II,
Viola, and Cello. This
music is played sul
ponticello in the melody
and col legno in the
marching accompaniment.
On top of this, the first
violin hovers at first on
a high harmonic, then
descends into a slow
melody, completely
separate from the Gounod.
It's as if the woman in
the painting is hearing
the opera onstage but is
not really interested in
it. Then the cello joins
the first violin in a
kind of love-duet (just
the two of them, at
first). This music isn't
at all Gounod-derived;
it's entirely from the
same scale patterns as
the first movement and
derives from Mary's Theme
and its scale. The music
stays in a kind of
dichotomy feeling,
usually
three-against-one, until
the end of the movement,
when another Gounod
melody, Valentin's aria
Avant de quitter ce lieux
reappears in a kind of
coda for all four
players. It ends
atmospherically and
emotionally disconnected,
however. The overall
feeling is a kind of
schizophrenic,
opera-inspired dream.
III Young Woman in
Green, Outdoors in the
Sun (1909) [Worcester Art
Museum, Massachusetts]
The painting, one
of Cassatt's last, is
very simple: just a
figure, looking sideways
out of the picture. The
colors are pastel and yet
bold - and the woman is
likewise very
self-assured and not in
the least demure. It is
eight minutes long, and
is all about melody -
three melodies, to be
exact (Young Woman,
Green, and Sunlight). No
angst, no choppy rhythms,
just ever-unfolding
melody and lush
harmonies. I quote one
other French composer
here, too: Debussy's song
Green, from Ariettes
Oubliees. 1909 would have
been Debussy's heyday in
Paris, and it makes
perfect sense musically
as well as visually to do
this. Mary Cassatt
lived her last several
years in near-total
blindness, and as she
lost visual acuity, her
work became less sharply
defined - something akin
to late water lilies of
Monet, who suffered
similar vision loss. My
idea of making this
movement entirely melodic
was compounded by having
each of the three
melodies appear twice,
once in a pure form, and
the second time in a more
diffuse setting. This
makes an interesting two
ways form:
A-B-C-A1-B1-C1.
String Quartet No.3
(Cassatt) is dedicated,
with great affection and
respect, to the Cassatt
String Quartet, whose
members have dedicated
themselves in large
measure to the furthering
of the contemporary
repertoire for
quartet.
Chamber Music String Quartet SKU: PR.164002720 Cassatt. Composed b...(+)
Chamber Music String
Quartet
SKU:
PR.164002720
Cassatt. Composed
by Dan Welcher. Spiral
and Saddle. Premiere:
Cassatt Quartet,
Northeastern Illinois
University, Chicago, IL.
Contemporary. Set of
Score and Parts. With
Standard notation.
Composed 2007. WRT11142.
52+16+16+16+16 pages.
Duration 24 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#164-00272. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.164002720).
UPC:
680160573042. 8.5 x 11
inches.
My third
quartet is laid out in a
three-movement structure,
with each movement based
on an early, middle, and
late work of the great
American impressionist
painter Mary Cassatt.
Although the movements
are separate, with
full-stop endings, the
music is connected by a
common scale-form,
derived from the name
MARY CASSATT, and by a
recurring theme that
introduces all three
movements. I see this
theme as Mary's Theme, a
personality that stays
intact while undergoing
gradual change. I
The Bacchante (1876)
[Pennsylvania Academy of
Fine Arts, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania] The
painting shows a young
girl of Italian or
Spanish origin, playing a
small pair of cymbals.
Since Cassatt was trying
very hard to fit in at
the French Academy at the
time, she painted a lot
of these subjects, which
were considered typical
and universal. The style
of the painting doesn't
yet show Cassatt's
originality, except
perhaps for certain
details in the face.
Accordingly the music for
this movement is
Spanish/Italian, in a
similar period-style but
using the musical
signature described
above. The music begins
with Mary's Theme,
ruminative and slow, then
abruptly changes to an
alla Spagnola-type fast
3/4 - 6/8 meter. It
evokes the
Spanish-influenced music
of Ravel and Falla.
Midway through,
there's an accompanied
recitative for the viola,
which figures large in
this particular movement,
then back to a truncated
recapitulation of the
fast music. The overall
feeling is of a
well-made, rather
conventional movement in
a contemporary
Spanish/Italian style.
Cassatt's painting, too,
is rather conventional.
II At the Opera
(1880) [Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston,
Massachusetts]
This painting is one of
Cassatt's most well known
works, and it hangs in
the Museum of Fine Arts
in Boston. The painting
shows a woman alone in a
box at the opera house,
completely dressed
(including gloves) and
looking through opera
glasses at someone or
something that is NOT on
the stage. Across the
auditorium from her, but
exactly at eye level, is
a gentleman with opera
glasses intently watching
her - though it is not
him that she's looking
at. It's an intriguing
picture. This
movement is far less
conventional than the
first movement, as the
painting is far less
conventional. The music
begins with a rapid,
Shostakovich-type
mini-overture lasting
less than a minute, based
on Mary's Theme. My
conjecture is that the
woman in the painting has
arrived late to the
opera, busily stumbling
into her box. What
happens next is a kind of
collage, a kind of
surrealistic overlaying
of two different
elements: the foreground
music, at first is a
direct quotation of
Soldier's Chorus from
Gounod's FAUST (an opera
Cassatt would certainly
have heard in the
brand-new Paris Opera
House at that time),
played by Violin II,
Viola, and Cello. This
music is played sul
ponticello in the melody
and col legno in the
marching accompaniment.
On top of this, the first
violin hovers at first on
a high harmonic, then
descends into a slow
melody, completely
separate from the Gounod.
It's as if the woman in
the painting is hearing
the opera onstage but is
not really interested in
it. Then the cello joins
the first violin in a
kind of love-duet (just
the two of them, at
first). This music isn't
at all Gounod-derived;
it's entirely from the
same scale patterns as
the first movement and
derives from Mary's Theme
and its scale. The music
stays in a kind of
dichotomy feeling,
usually
three-against-one, until
the end of the movement,
when another Gounod
melody, Valentin's aria
Avant de quitter ce lieux
reappears in a kind of
coda for all four
players. It ends
atmospherically and
emotionally disconnected,
however. The overall
feeling is a kind of
schizophrenic,
opera-inspired dream.
III Young Woman in
Green, Outdoors in the
Sun (1909) [Worcester Art
Museum, Massachusetts]
The painting, one
of Cassatt's last, is
very simple: just a
figure, looking sideways
out of the picture. The
colors are pastel and yet
bold - and the woman is
likewise very
self-assured and not in
the least demure. It is
eight minutes long, and
is all about melody -
three melodies, to be
exact (Young Woman,
Green, and Sunlight). No
angst, no choppy rhythms,
just ever-unfolding
melody and lush
harmonies. I quote one
other French composer
here, too: Debussy's song
Green, from Ariettes
Oubliees. 1909 would have
been Debussy's heyday in
Paris, and it makes
perfect sense musically
as well as visually to do
this. Mary Cassatt
lived her last several
years in near-total
blindness, and as she
lost visual acuity, her
work became less sharply
defined - something akin
to late water lilies of
Monet, who suffered
similar vision loss. My
idea of making this
movement entirely melodic
was compounded by having
each of the three
melodies appear twice,
once in a pure form, and
the second time in a more
diffuse setting. This
makes an interesting two
ways form:
A-B-C-A1-B1-C1.
String Quartet No.3
(Cassatt) is dedicated,
with great affection and
respect, to the Cassatt
String Quartet, whose
members have dedicated
themselves in large
measure to the furthering
of the contemporary
repertoire for
quartet.