Vistas. Composed
by Shulamit Ran. Set of
Score and Parts. With
Standard notation. 42 +
112 pages. Duration 25
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #114-40698.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.114406980).
UPC:
680160010806.
Shula
mit Ran’s second
string quartet, subtitled
“Vistas,â€
occupies a large canvas
that is cast in a
traditional fourmovement
mold, where the outer
movements present,
explore, and later return
to the work’s
principal musical
materials, surrounding a
slow movement and
scherzo-type third
movement with a trio. In
addition to tempo-based
titles, the individual
movements have subtitles
that are evocative of
each movement’s
character, as follows: I.
Concentric: from the
inside out II. Stasis
III. Flashes IV.
Vistas. My second
string quartet,
“Vistasâ€, is
a work cast in a
traditional four-movement
formal mold, with the
outer movements,
presenting and later
returning to the
work’s principal
musical materials,
surrounding a slow
movement and a
scherzo-type third
movement.While the four
movements’
“properâ€
names -- Maestoso con
forza, Lento, Scherzo
impetuoso, and
Introduzione; Maestoso e
grande – give some
indication of the general
character of the
individual movements, I
have also subtitled, less
formally, each movement
as follows:Â 1)
Concentric:Â from the
inside out 2)Â
Stasis 3) FlashesÂ
4) Vista. The images
evoked by these titles
tell one, I think, a bit
more about the inner
workings of the
quartet.In the first
movement, a prominently
presented opening pitch
(E) reveals itself, as
the movement unfolds, to
be a center of gravity
from which ever-growing
cycles of activity
gradually evolve.Â
While various important
themes come into being as
the movement progresses,
their impact on the
listener has, I believe,
a great deal to do with
their juxtaposition and
relationship to the
initial central point of
gravity.Stasis is, as the
name implies, a movement
where activity seems, at
times, almost
suspended. Being
also, as Webster’s
Dictionary reminds us,
“a state of static
balance and equilibrium
among opposing tendencies
or forces,†it
develops various
materials, including ones
from the first movement,
without bringing them to
points of
resolution.Flashes is
short and very fast,
evoking in my mind the
quick shimmer of
fireflies, a
“sudden burst of
lightâ€, but also a
“brief
timeâ€. Perhaps,
even, a
“smile�Final
ly, the last movement,
Vista, is not only
“a view or
outlookâ€, but also
“a comprehensive
mental view of a series
of remembered or
anticipated
events.â€Â After
a brief recall of the
opening of the second
movement, this movement
brings back all the
important themes of the
first movement in their
original order. But
just as going back can
never really mean going
back in time, the
movement is much more
than recapitulatory.Â
By cutting through
previously transitory
passages and presenting
the main ideas in a
fashion more direct yet
more evolved, it also
sheds new light on
earlier events, offering
a retrospective, synoptic
view of the first
movement as it brings to
culmination the work as a
whole. “Vistasâ
€ was commissioned by
C. Geraldine Freund for
the Taneyev String
Quartet of what was then
Leningrad. It was the
first commission given in
this country to a Soviet
chamber ensemble since
the 1985 cultural
exchange accord between
the Soviet Union and the
United States.
String Quartet (2vl,va,vc) SKU: BR.EB-9243 Full Score. Composed by...(+)
String Quartet
(2vl,va,vc)
SKU:
BR.EB-9243
Full
Score. Composed by
Christian Mason. Chamber
music; stapled. Edition
Breitkopf. World premiere
of the original version:
London, May 10, 2016World
premiere of the string
orchestra version:
Clermont-Ferrand, October
8, 2020. New music
(post-2000). Full score.
Composed 2016/2020. 40
pages. Duration 19'.
Breitkopf and Haertel #EB
9243. Published by
Breitkopf and Haertel
(BR.EB-9243).
ISBN
9790004185438. 9 x 12
inches.
It was the
practice of Khoomii
(throat singing) -
following several
workshops with Michael
Ormiston - that first
attracted me to Tuvan
music. Composing this
Songbook, the first in a
series commissioned by
the Ligeti Quartet, I
took the chance to
reflect on compositional
questions around
transcription and
arrangement of existing
music, and frequently
found myself asking:
where is the boundary
between the source
material and the new
substance? Of course the
relationship varies from
piece to piece, and
moment to moment:
sometimes we seem to
glimpse the pure source,
but most of the time
there are differing
degrees of distance,
working towards or away
from it. This new version
for string orchestra
corresponds closely to
the original quartet
version, with an
additional part for
double basses.The
traditional Tuvan songs
that I have transcribed
and recomposed are all
known to me from the Ay
Kherel CD The Music of
Tuva: Throat Singing and
Instruments from Central
Asia (2004, Arc Music).
According to the notes
from that CD, this is
what the songs are
about:1. Dyngylday: If
you have come on a horse
in blue, it doesn't mean
that you are the best. My
heart tells me something
else: my sweetheart
doesn't have such a
beautiful horse, but he
is my darling.An
alternative
interpretation from Alash
Ensemble
(alashensemble.com): The
word dyngylday is a
nonsense term with no
translation. The song
makes good-humored fun of
somebody for being a
good-for-nothing.2. Eki
Attar (The Best Steeds):
The horse is the basis of
our life. It is a magic
creature. Even its step
is full of music and
rhythm. You may not be a
horse rider, but when you
hear this song you will
always remember horses.3.
Kuda Yry: This wedding
song glorifies the
strength of the groom and
the beauty of his
Horse.4. Ezir-Kara
('Black Eagle'): This was
the name of a horse, who
became a legend through
his remarkable strength
and speed.It is not just
overtones that abound
here: there are galloping
rhythms aplenty, and
though I am no horse
rider I tried to keep the
horses galloping in my
imagination while
composing these
pieces.Christian Mason
(with quotes from Ay
Kherel and Alash
Ensemble)
World
premiere of the original
version: London/UK, May
10, 2016, World premiere
of the string orchestra
version:
Clermont-Ferrand/France,
October 8, 2020.
String Quartet (2vl,va,vc) SKU: BR.EB-9244 Set of Parts. Composed ...(+)
String Quartet
(2vl,va,vc)
SKU:
BR.EB-9244
Set of
Parts. Composed by
Christian Mason. Chamber
music; stapled. Edition
Breitkopf. World premiere
of the original version:
London, May 10, 2016World
premiere of the string
orchestra version:
Clermont-Ferrand, October
8, 2020. New music
(post-2000). Set of
parts. Composed
2016/2020. 92 pages.
Duration 19'. Breitkopf
and Haertel #EB 9244.
Published by Breitkopf
and Haertel (BR.EB-9244).
ISBN 9790004185445. 9
x 12 inches.
It was
the practice of Khoomii
(throat singing) -
following several
workshops with Michael
Ormiston - that first
attracted me to Tuvan
music. Composing this
Songbook, the first in a
series commissioned by
the Ligeti Quartet, I
took the chance to
reflect on compositional
questions around
transcription and
arrangement of existing
music, and frequently
found myself asking:
where is the boundary
between the source
material and the new
substance? Of course the
relationship varies from
piece to piece, and
moment to moment:
sometimes we seem to
glimpse the pure source,
but most of the time
there are differing
degrees of distance,
working towards or away
from it. This new version
for string orchestra
corresponds closely to
the original quartet
version, with an
additional part for
double basses.The
traditional Tuvan songs
that I have transcribed
and recomposed are all
known to me from the Ay
Kherel CD The Music of
Tuva: Throat Singing and
Instruments from Central
Asia (2004, Arc Music).
According to the notes
from that CD, this is
what the songs are
about:1. Dyngylday: If
you have come on a horse
in blue, it doesn't mean
that you are the best. My
heart tells me something
else: my sweetheart
doesn't have such a
beautiful horse, but he
is my darling.An
alternative
interpretation from Alash
Ensemble
(alashensemble.com): The
word dyngylday is a
nonsense term with no
translation. The song
makes good-humored fun of
somebody for being a
good-for-nothing.2. Eki
Attar (The Best Steeds):
The horse is the basis of
our life. It is a magic
creature. Even its step
is full of music and
rhythm. You may not be a
horse rider, but when you
hear this song you will
always remember horses.3.
Kuda Yry: This wedding
song glorifies the
strength of the groom and
the beauty of his
Horse.4. Ezir-Kara
('Black Eagle'): This was
the name of a horse, who
became a legend through
his remarkable strength
and speed.It is not just
overtones that abound
here: there are galloping
rhythms aplenty, and
though I am no horse
rider I tried to keep the
horses galloping in my
imagination while
composing these
pieces.Christian Mason
(with quotes from Ay
Kherel and Alash
Ensemble)
World
premiere of the original
version: London/UK, May
10, 2016, World premiere
of the string orchestra
version:
Clermont-Ferrand/France,
October 8, 2020.
String quartet SKU: M7.DOHR-88815 Variations for String Quartet. C...(+)
String quartet
SKU:
M7.DOHR-88815
Variations for String
Quartet. Composed by
Adrian Connell. Sheet
music. Score and parts.
48 pages. Duration 15'.
MDS (Music Distribution
Services) #DOHR 88815.
Published by MDS (Music
Distribution Services)
(M7.DOHR-88815).
ISBN
9790202098158.
On
the workFor many years I
was the director of
festive music at our
local church in
Orpington. I always
carried a little music
notebook on me for use
during the sermons. I
remember writing a series
of notes, as a challenge
to use as a melody when I
got home, then I realised
it used all twelve notes
of the scale. Having been
penned during a sermon, I
decided to use this as a
structure. The tone row
became the sermon and the
following variations the
reactions to this sermon.
As a clue to the ideas
behind the music, I added
sectional headings to
each variation. While
this is a serious work
musically, it is actually
meant to be a piece of
fun! (Adrian
Connell)Duration: 15
minutes.
String Quartet No. 4 Quatuor à cordes: 2 violons, alto, violoncelle Carl Fischer
Chamber Music String Quartet SKU: CF.BE24 The Planet on the Table....(+)
Chamber Music String
Quartet
SKU:
CF.BE24
The Planet
on the Table.
Composed by Martin
Bresnick. Folio. Set of
Score and Parts.
48+20+16+16+16 pages.
Duration 32 minutes. Carl
Fischer Music #BE24.
Published by Carl Fischer
Music (CF.BE24).
ISBN
9781491156780. UPC:
680160915323. 9 x 12
inches. La.
Based
on Wallace Stevens' poem
The Planet on the Table
this string quartet's
world is made of the
music and sounds of
remembered times or of
something heard that the
composer, Martin
Bresnick, liked. The
quartet has five
movements, each headed by
a quotation from one of
Stevens' poems as a point
of departure or pathway
into those remembered
sounds and music. What
matters is that my music,
like his (Stevens')
poetry, should bear some
lineament or character,
some affluence, if only
half perceived in the
poverty of its sounds, of
the planet of which it
was part.. Wallace
Stevens' poem The Planet
on the Table begins -
Ariel was glad he had
written his poems, They
were of a remembered time
Or of something seen that
he liked. In this string
quartet, also entitled
The Planet on the Table,
my planet is made of the
music and sounds of a
remembered time or of
something heard that I
liked. The quartet has
five movements, each
headed by a quotation
from one of Stevens'
poems* as a point of
departure or pathway into
those remembered sounds
and music: I. Mrs.
Anderson's Swedish Baby
II. She Measured the Hour
III. Scene 10 Becomes 11
IV. Someone Has Walked
Across the Snow V. His
Self and the Sun Like
Stevens, my self and the
sun are one, and my
music, like his poetry,
although makings of my
self, is also makings of
the sun. Stevens wrote it
was not important that
his poetry survive, which
is also true of my work.
What matters is that my
music, like his poetry,
should bear some
lineament or character,
some affluence, if only
half perceived in the
poverty of its sounds, of
the planet of which it
was part. *Sources for
the titles: I. The
Pleasures of Merely
Circulating II. The Idea
of Order at Key West III.
Chaos in Motion and Not
in Motion IV. Vacancy in
the Park V. The Planet on
the Table. Wallace
Stevens' poem The Planet
on the Table begins
-Ariel was glad he had
written his poems,They
were of a remembered
timeOr of something seen
that he liked.In this
string quartet, also
entitled The Planet on
the Table, my planet is
made of the music and
sounds of a remembered
time or of something
heard that I liked.The
quartet has five
movements, each headed by
a quotation from one of
Stevens' poems* as a
point of departure or
pathway into those
remembered sounds and
music:I. Mrs. Anderson's
Swedish BabyII. She
Measured the HourIII.
Scene 10 Becomes 11IV.
Someone Has Walked Across
the SnowV. His Self and
the SunLike Stevens, my
self and the sun are one,
and my music, like his
poetry, although makings
of my self, is also
makings of the sun.
Stevens wrote it was not
important that his poetry
survive, which is also
true of my work.What
matters is that my music,
like his poetry, should
bear some lineament or
character, some
affluence, if only half
perceived in the poverty
of its sounds, of the
planet of which it was
part.*Sources for the
titles:I. The Pleasures
of Merely CirculatingII.
The Idea of Order at Key
WestIII. Chaos in Motion
and Not in MotionIV.
Vacancy in the ParkV. The
Planet on the Table.
Composer's notes: This piece came about in a rather unusual way. I had a dream i...(+)
Composer's notes: This
piece came about in a
rather unusual way. I had
a dream in which a string
quartet were playing some
very beautiful music. I
was exhorting them to
'play it like late
Beethoven' When I woke
up, I could not remember
any themes or details of
what they had been
playing, but had an
intense memory of the
'feeling' of the music,
which was soft, sensual
and muted, and I
immediately sat down to
write a string quartet.
What began to emerge was
nothing like Beethoven at
all, and very early into
the writing I had a
strong vision of some
people dancing a formal
and intense series of
dances in a village in a
very dry and hot
landscape - the
Australian outback or
Africa maybe. The dances
were very moving, with an
inward, ritualistic
quality and they
obviously had great
meaning for the people
performing them. Geoffrey
Burgon