Par BACEWICZ GRAZYNA. Studying the sketches for works which a composer considers to be finished, perfected, is a fascinating activity. It enables one to penetrate the secrets of creative work, to compare the initial outline of a composition with its final version. A sketch is generally left untitled, but it does occur that a composer enhances the status of such a draft by giving it a title, before creating an improved version of that title on the basis of the finished work. The list of compositions by Grazyna Bacewicz, the full catalogue of which is held in the National Library in Warsaw, includes a work for string quartet entitled Quatuor. The manuscript was left undated, but analysis of the music allows us to date this work to the mid-1960s. In the composer?s output from that period, the instrumental tone colouring, often an element that helps to forge a work, takes on particular significance. The first movement of the Quatuor [à cordes] opens with three fifth-tritone chords ?cast forth?, in succession, in saltando-gettato technique by the cello, second violin and first violin. When we look at the beginning of the Seventh String Quartet, from 1965, such a chord appears in the second bar of the cello part. Further comparisons lead to interesting conclusions. The two opening movements are almost identical, built from the same elements, only spatially arranged in a different way. In the structure of the first movement of the Seventh Quartet, one distinguishes two thematic planes, which shape the narrative after the fashion of a sonata allegro. The first theme is a series of episodes of changing texture ? from passagework to chords and short glissandos repeated with varying intensity. The second theme (Meno mosso) displays an imitative form. Both works feature an inverted reprise. For the first 25 bars of the second movement, a nostalgic Grave, the two works sound identical. The continuation of this movement in the Quatuor [à cordes] is more modest than in the analogous segments of the Seventh Quartet, in terms of both changing textures and the use of differentiated means of articulation. Towards the end, a motif from the beginning of this movement returns in modified form. Both the third movements (Capriccioso in the Quatuor [à cordes], Con vivezza in the Seventh Quartet) take the form of a rondo, and appearing in each of them is the same ?warbling? theme, based on scattered notes with grace notes. The Seventh String Quartet is in three movements. The presumed prototype consists of four movements. The last movement of the Quatuor [à cordes] is a Maestoso resembling a mine of textural ideas for other works of a sonoristic provenance from this period. The introduction, constituting a closed narrative whole and a reference point for the rest of the movement, is followed by segments that are dominated by ostinatos of various kinds, including with the use of harmonics, passages built on the progressive shifting of short motifs, and unevenly spread chords. Grazyna Bacewicz used material from earlier works more than once in her compositions. Her oeuvre also includes ?twin? pieces merely scored for a different set of instruments. Yet the self-quotation that occurs in the case of the Quatuor [à cordes] and the Seventh String Quartet ? lengthy passages from another of her works reused with minor modifications ? is an unusual situation. It undermines the former?s status as an independent work. Malgorzata Gasiorowska/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes

This piece reflects Janácek's memories of childhood and youth in his native Hukvaldy and the Augustinian Abbey in Brno. Kry?tof Maratka, a Czech composer resident in France and a great admirer of Janácek, has arranged the original version to produce a welcome addition to the string quartet repertoire.Youth for wind sextet, is a masterpiece from Janácek's late period (1924). Maratka has successfully managed to transform the concise winds' sound that give this work its unique flavour into the timbre of the strings, thereby creating a 'third string quartet? of the composer.- Janácek's wind sextet arranged for string quartet- Welcome addition to the string quartet repertoire- Foreword by the arranger (Cz/Eng/Ger) / Quatuor A Cordes

8 Enchanting Pieces from India arranged for String Quartet. Par SHARMA PYARELAL. For the first time The Schott String Quartet Series features a collection of pieces that have been originally composed in a style unique to string quartet arrangements. Internationally-acclaimed Bollywood composer Pyarelal Sharma has provided music and songs for over 450 films. This set of string quartets, composed especially for Schott, is influenced by Indian film music, Indian folk, Arabic and light Indian classical music, thus combining the alluring sound of the East with the stability of a classic Western ensemble. Another new feature that this volume has brought to the series is a special bonus CD containing performances of these charming pieces by leading members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The Schott String Quartet Series With the first books in the series focusing on baroque, classical and romantic styles, The Schott String Quartet Series has expanded to cover music ranging from traditional pieces through to Eastern-influenced works. Aside from 'Indian Summer', which features original compositions, each book contains original arrangements of well known themes, which have often never been arranged for string quartet before. An important characteristic of these arrangements is that they allow all four instruments to demand the attention throughout the music. The pieces are suitable for amateur musicians or school students and are ideal for public performance./ Recueil / Quatuor à Cordes

Par PROBST TATIANA. Commissioned by Claude Desmarets, this string quartet was written at Fontevraud Abbey in 2016 as part of a composer's residence organized by the association 'Foyer Joy-eux' which is devoted to perpetuating the memory of pianist Geneviève Joy and composer Henri Dutilleux. 'Ainsi un nouveau jour' is an imaginary continuation of Dutilleux's legendary quartet 'Ainsi la nuit' created around short texts evoking different mythological figures. The work is dedicated to the Rosamonde Quartet. / Date parution : 2022-02-03/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes

for String Quartet Score and Parts. Par HARTKE STEPHEN. THE FIFTH BOOK of the title refers to what Stephen Hartke considers his fifth book of madrigals, only two of which books are actually for voices, with the others being for string instruments. Hartke writes madrigals for string instruments due to their inherent singing quality, but also due to the fluid structural character of the madrigal as a genre that often responds in quite mercurial ways to the emotional unfolding of its text. These five movements are thus abstract madrigals whose larger outlines, shifts in mood, and various internal reminiscences are intended to convey a private, unspoken drama. Commissioned for the Brentano String Quartet by the Frankfurt Burgerstiftung im Holzhausenschlosschen sponsored by the Ernst Max von Grunelius-Stiftung. / Date parution : 2020-04-11/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes

Inspired by the events of September 11th, this three-movement work incorporates recorded voices of NORAD air traffic controllers (North American Aerospace Defense Command), FDNY (Fire Department New York), and Ground Zero neighborhood residents. / Quatuor A Cordes